


Deception: Season 1

by DeviousPeep



Series: Deception [1]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Wikia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-21
Updated: 2014-02-15
Packaged: 2018-11-12 17:19:53
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 12
Words: 37,825
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11166480
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DeviousPeep/pseuds/DeviousPeep
Summary: Six years after being accused of homicide, 16-year-old Rena Santiago moves back to his hometown of Wiksteria, invoking fear within this once peaceful community.





	1. "Pilot"

"You're under arrest, son."

Flash to sight of a cold and pale face, belonging to the dying Silvia Santiago as blood begins to seep uncontrollably from her temple. She lies unmoved in a shallow ditch as dirt immediately begins to cover her body.

 

> _"Hello, my is Rena Santiago, I'm 16 years old, and only 6 years ago in the once beautiful town of Wiksteria, I was convicted of second degree murder."_

Flash to a fairly young Rena as he is suddenly whisked out of home, watching closely as his mother's body is being hauled into an ambulance. He clutches tightly to himself as an officer hauls him into the back of a police car.

 

> _"Right now, you may be asking yourself -- "Did he really do it? Is he a true sociopath?" Oddly enough, these are the questions to answers I can hardly determine on my own."_

The young Rena sat in the back of the police car, hands bundled together through the cold metal of the handcuffs he wore. He peered out the window watching the world he once knew slipping through his childlike fingers.

 

>   _"After all, anything is possible in the small town of Wiksteria."_

"What's happening to Rena, mom?" A young boy asked curiously on the steps of his victorian styled household, hands locked with his protective mother. The whole neighborhood watches on at scene of the Santiago residence, where quiet a scandal has stirred up. She looks down upon him. "He'll be going away for a long time Benjamin." The mother says in a stern voice, grasping tighter to her child's hand. "He did a bad thing, and now he'll pay for it for the rest of his life."

We are treated to the image of a fairly young brunette, who begins to toss and turn in his sleep as his nightmares begin to take over. He groans quietly, images of the past quickly filling his head.

 

> _"'Perfectionist' is always the word that comes to mind when I think of Ben Fitzgerald. It was as if he always felt the need to be the best at everything, may it be sports, academics, or even the arts. However, while it was extremely annoying, it was never his fault that he grew up to be this way."_

Flash to a much younger Ben, sitting upright at a fancy restaurant with his well-dressed and groomed parents. He smiles down at the warm platter that is set out and prepares to eat when his mother shoots him a haughty glare. "In this family, we like to say grace before we begin to feast." Ben quickly obeys his mother's subtle orders, clasping his hands together. Gloria Fitzgerald grins. "The better the manners, the better the person," She says as an ashamed Ben quietly sinks into his seat.

 

> _"He'd been sweet, funny, charming..."_

Flash to an older Ben, who calmly sits in his living room while his mother lectures him about the importance of schooling after receiving a measly B in Social Sciences. "If you continue down this path, you might as well end up working and a glum gas station in the filth of Storywik." She scoffs at the thought of the dreadful place. "Are you sure you want that?" Ben sighs, shaking his head.

 

> _"Yes, while raised in a harsh (yet oddly kept) household, Ben remained as pure as dove through all. Maybe that's why I wanted to be his friend, there was just something about him."_

Ben's eyes flutter as he is relieved of his nightmares, promptly turning to the side of the bed as he attempts to get comfy. He stares at the wall, trying to recall why he'd once again been plagued with the horrible nightmares of "that night". He then listens as his mother yells for him to get ready for school, rolling out of bed to prepare for another day of cryptic torture.

The scene later opens to the halls of East Wisteria High as Josh Fisher and Valentina Gold, tongues nearly down each other's throats.. Most people ignore this intense scene, but then there are a few who just can't. We see a tall blonde staring in at the couple with her two friends by her side.

 

> _"This is Emma Cassidy, head cheerleader and queen bee of the school. Nothing got past her! Nothing happened without her knowing! It was her school, and she got everything that she wanted -- that is -- except the man she wanted. Yes, Emma Cassidy wanted Josh Fisher to be hers, but not exactly for the right reason. You see, Josh is one of the most popular kids in school, and with Emma dating him, she would have even more popularity, and with more popularity, then she'd have more power, and that is the one thing that evil bitch wants."_

Emma scowls at Josh and Val as she holds out her hand. One of her followers, Liz Vitale, reaches for a stick of gum and places it in Emma's hand. Emma looks at the gum and shoves it in her other follower, Isabelle's face. "Dammit, Liz, this is peppermint. You damn well know, I ''don't'' chew peppermint, I fucking wanted winter mint! You can't get anything right, CAN YOU!?" Liz gulps in fear. "Now, why don't you go to class and do whatever pointless thing you have to do!" "Y - yes, Emma." Liz rushes to class in the opposite direction. Emma glares at Isabelle. "Well what are you waiting for? Go get me some damn gum!" "Wha- what about class?" "You get A's, nothing will happen, just go!" Isabelle does as told and rushes for the doors. Finding herself alone, Emma uses this as the perfect time to talk to Josh. Emma looks over where he sees Josh and Val smiling as they hold each other's hand. Emma makes her way over where she comes in between the couple, facing Josh. "Hi, sexy", Emma says as she nonchalantly puts her hand over Josh's package. Val moves Emma out of the way. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" Emma looks at Val with distaste. "Oh... Didn't see you there", Emma says, lying through her teeth. Val looks down at Emma's hand that is placed of her boyfriend's parts. "I suggest you move that hand before I shove it somewhere you wouldn't like it." Josh's stares at his girlfriend in shock as he pushes Emma's hand away, covering his genitals. Emma glares at Josh, and smiles devilishly as she takes a step closer to Valentina, pushing a few hairs off of the girl's forehead. "And where's that going to be, my dear, Valentina?". "You're gonna wish you didn't do that, Cassidy," She says as she slaps Emma's hand back. "I'd watch your back if I were you, for the lord will smite with thee who threatens to harm his people. ''Got that?''" Emma stands silently for a moment before blurting out, "Psycho!" Emma storms away, and Val looks down at her boyfriend's pants where she notices he has an erection. She glares back over in her rival's direction, furious.

 

> _"What a bitch!"_

Valentina stares into her locker as she grabs her books as Josh puts his arm around her. A disgusted Valentina rolls her eyes and pushes him to the side as she slams her locker shut. "What was that for?" Josh asks as Valentina begins to walk to the other way. "Valentina?". Valentina turns to face him. "Are you an idiot, or just doing this to hurt me on purpose?" Josh shrugs. "I still have no idea what you're talking about." Val rolls her eyes again as she continues to walk, Josh still following behind her. "It's bad enough that that witch Emma still attends East Wiksteria, but you receiving sexual thoughts about her? It's ridiculous!" She stops abruptly and turns. "Shouldn't you be worrying about the Socio instead? His return was all over the news this morning." Josh sighs. "''Socio''? That's what people are calling him now?" "Hey, he was ''your'' best friend, not mine," Valentina exclaims. "Look, the lord doesn't accept those who defy his law, especially those such as that bi--bit--" Josh smiles. "If you really need to say it, just let it out. It's not going to hurt anybody." Val takes a deep breath as an aggravated look comes across her face. "Whatever. Just keep an eye out for the little harlot. She's on my list." She says as she walks off in a different direction. Josh sighs as he watches her and turns his attention to Ben and another student cohorting at their lockers.

 

> _"Joshua Fisher had always been a feisty fellow, and it was quite a surprise when we ended up being buddies on the Soccer Team, there was always something off about him. I mean, just look at that gal-pal Val of his! Luckily for me, all it took to gain his friendship was a mean bicycle kick and well-rounded assist."_

"So is that a no?" the voice of fellow overachiever James Duong asks in a whiny tone that seems to annoy Ben. "Is it because of this whole arrival thingie, because I'm sure that if you kept your distance-" "Please, that's not the deal at all," Ben says in an annoyed tone as he grabs his textbooks and stuffs them into his backpack. "Renato has nothing to do with the fact that my mother has gone into protective mode ever since ''he'' returned." "So we're not studying at the diner tonight?" James asks, as of he hadn't already got the hint. Ben subtly rolled his eyes, as he blurts out a simple "No". James sighs and walks off as Ben closes his locker and turns only to slightly jump at the sight of Josh standing behind him. "Hey," He says in a quiet tone."Shouldn't you be with your soccer buddies or something?" Josh rolls his eyes. "Look, I'm only here because I wanted to see how you were doing, giving the circumstances." He looks around to see if anyone was watching, speaking in a hushed tone: "I've been having the nightmares again." Ben looks away. "Well you surely aren't the only one in this town scared about this whole 'Rena in Wiksteria' issue. Apparently the ''socio'' has made quite a name about himself, I don't really want to get mixed up in that. Maybe you should talk to someone about it?" Josh stares at Ben with a raised eyebrow. "What are you trying to imply?"

 

> _"It was just the three of us, Ben, Josh, and I. Friends 'till the end..."_

"I'm saying that maybe you should forget about the past" Ben suggests. "We can't just forget that our best friend murdered his own mother". "Was ''accused''," Ben corrects him. Josh sighs as the two sit in silence, students hurrying to get to class. Josh suddenly turns to face Ben, a faint smile on his mouth. "Look, don't tell anyone I was the one who told you this, but there's this huge party at the Clark estate, to blow off steam with the arrival of Rena and what not. All of the guys from the soccer team are going and I just wanted to know if you maybe wanted to tag along and finally get out of that shell you've been hiding in for the last few years". Ben flashes a grin. "Thanks for the offer, but I'd rather not 'hang' with your soccer friends, as if they weren't stuck-up and idiotic already". Josh is taken back by this remark and steps back as a group of football jocks who glare at the two with a confused glare. "Those are my friends you're talking about, Fitzgerald." He says as he pokes his chest out. It wasn't usual for Josh, co-captain of the varsity soccer team, to be talking to a so-called nerd according to East Wiksteria High standards, even if the individual had been his friend for years. "Nothing you haven't said about my friends," Ben says, challenging his dominance as he takes a step closer. Josh looks around again and steps back. "Dude, it was just a suggestion. You don't have to go if you don't want to--" "I don't," Ben interrupts. "And I don't want to talk about this whole Rena situation either. Hell, if he knows what's right for him, he'll learn to keep his distance." "I wouldn't speak too early if I were ''you''," Josh suggests as he looks towards the front of the school. Ben quickly turns from his position, the hallway falling silent as everyone sees Rena emerge from the large crowd of classmates in the school. Clearly seeing he's the center of attention, Rena lowers his head as he walks, invoking the hushed chatter and judgmental glares around him. Ben quickly turns his head from the scene, hoping Rena wouldn't recognize him.

"Look at him, he has the face of a psychopath!"

"Should we be worried?"

"He **murdered** his own mother."

Ben looks around at the group of students staring at Rena, and pretends to occupy himself while Josh subtly checks his phone, watching as Rena settles himself into his locker. He felt bad, of course, but everything would be better off if the two had kept their distance and didn't associate themselves with each other.

"Hey socio," A jock says as he and his buffed up pack walks up behind Rena, who was gathering his books. "Need something?" Rena says, his back still turned. Joey chuckles as the rest of his pack grins at each other. "I'm sorry, but you must not know who I am," The jock said, a devious smile on his lips. He lays out his hand, Rena turning to face him. Josh and Ben look on from a distance. "I'm Joey Davis, captain of the soccer team and I'm here to make sure freaks like you don't disturb the direct flow of our school's social standards, clear?". "If that's your way of trying to make me feel inferior to you, then you're failing," Rena says. "One way or another, we're going to get you out of this school and into the crazy house where other psychopathic murderers like you reside," Joey says as Rena falls silent, feeling his hands clench together into a fist. Words bubble at the edge of his tongue, and as he begins to say something, he is inturrupting by an intimidating voice coming from the PA system above their heads. "Will Renato Santiago please report to Principal Sonya's office?" He stares down a smiling Joey before shutting his locker and heading in a different direction, Ben and Josh watching carefully from a distance.

 

> _"...Or at least I hoped we'd be."_

In the Principal's office, Principal Sonya and Rena are sitting quietly. Rena counts the number of tiles on the ceiling while Mr. Sonya plays Candy Crush on his phone. The principal looks at the time, and back at the alleged killer. "Your parents should be here anytime now." Rena glances over, coldly. "''They''aren't my parents. There's my dad and his bitch of a wife, Justine." "Rena, please, use school appropriate language." "Only if you stop acting like a first grade teacher and accept that you'll hear that kind of stuff!" Sonya doesn't respond, and instead goes back to playing his game.

Fernando and Justine Santiago finally arrive after Rena and Principal Sonya sat in silence for over an hour. Fernando puts out his hand for the principal to shake. "Hello, I'm Rena's father, Fernando Santiago. This is my wife, Justine." Sonya shakes both of their hands. "Nice to meet you, I'm Principal Sonya. I've called you two here to talk about your son." Fernando and Justine stand in silence. Fernando finally asks, "Has something happened." He, Justine, and Brad glance at Rena. "Well, there have been many complaints." "Complaints?" Justine asks, stunned. "A lot of kids have come to complain about how they're worried your son, and I mean this in the nicest way as possible, will harm another woman. Everyone is well... Scared..." "Not everyone", Rena speaks up. "A group of soccer players threatened me, today." The three adults turn their attention to the alleged killer. "Who, son?" asks Fernando. "Some guy named Joey and a few of his friends. It happened right before I was pulled out of society once again and forced to sit here for over an hour because my damn stepmom had to cheat my father out of even more money than she already has." Fernando, Justine, and Brad are stunned. "Son! Don't talk about your mother that way!" "Excuse me, but my mother is dead. This thing is just some gold digging half-wit." Rena prepares to exit the office, but the door opens and a young woman enters. "Hello, Principal Sonya, Mrs. Van de Kamp sent me in to pick up her planning schedule." "Yes, Alison, it should be right over here." Mr. Sonya searches through a pile of papers. Justine and Fernando wait silently. Rena catches Alison's eyes. A smile is exchanged between the two.

 

> _"Alison Swift was her name, and a beautiful name that it was. She was the smartest girl in school, had straight A's, participated in extra curricular activities, and still managed to maintained a healthy social life. She was the perfect girl, but alas, she was involved with some of the least perfect people: Valentina's Christian club, but we'll get to that later."_

Brad finally finds and hands Alison the schedule. "Have a great day, Ms. Swift." "You too." Alison exits the office, but as she does, she can't stop thinking about Rena. The guy everyone thinks killed Silvia Santiago. ''Were they all wrong?'' she thought to herself. ''He sure didn't look like a killer.''

In Psychology, Ben sits staring out the window as the middle aged teacher begins to ramble on about something clearly no one cared about. He his eyes start to flutter to sleep when the room suddenly falls silent as a lone figure enters the room. Rena. "I'm here for Mrs. Yan's psychology class?" The teacher smiles. “You must be Mr. Santiago,” Rena nods. “Please take an open seat near the back.” “Yeah, come sit by me, socio,” Joey says, the students next to him giggling. Rena gives him a sarcastic grin as he plops down in his seat, the people next to him looking on in disgust. “What was that you called him, Joseph?” Mrs. Yan asks, chalk in hand. “Socio?” “That’s it,” She says as she begins to write on the board. She turns around, the word “sociopath” written in capital letters. “Would you care to explain what ‘socio’—or it’s more scientific term, ‘sociopath’, means?” “Someone who wakes up in a pool of blood?” Joey snorts out, Rena sinking into his seat. “I’d be careful,” Another jock says, chuckling. “ You might be the next one on his death list—“ “Now boys, East Wiksteria is a place where everyone should treat others as they would expect others to treat themselves. Mr. Santiago is to be treated as one of your classmates, nothing else. Are we clear?” Joey rolls his eyes. “Anyways, Joseph, that wasn’t quite the definition I was looking for. Anyone else care to explain?” Mrs. Yan looks around the room, noticing a distracted Ben staring out the window. “Benjamin?” Ben looks up as all the eyes in the room quietly fall upon him. He clears his throat. “Isn’t it someone who doesn’t necessarily feel any emotion towards others?” “Excellent!” Mrs. Yan exclaims, clasping her hands together as she goes to write on the board. Ben tilts his head back to glance at Rena, who’s staring dead at him. He gulps.

“And he didn’t do anything crazy at all?” Valentina says as she plops down at one of the lunch tables, her posh group of Christian lassies mimicking her movement. Alison shrugs. “He kind of just sat there like he was normal,” She said. “Are you sure he killed his mother?” Valentina chuckles. “Honey, his fingerprints was all over the murder weapon, and if it wasn’t for those idiotic police men, he’d be rotting in jail right now for the rest of his sorry life..” “Oh,” Ali says as she looks down and plays with her salad. Valentina takes a bite of her apple, and after determining it as disgusting, shoves it towards one of the girls behind her. “What even got you thinking all that? Do you think he’s cute or something?” “No…I just—“ “Well let me tell you now,” Valentina inturrupts. “Our father in heaven looks heavily down upon the act of murder. Renato Santiago ‘’will’’ get what’s coming to him. Besides, looks like Miss Clark already has her eye on him.” Ali turns her head to indeed see the popular and slim redhead walking towards Rena’s direction at the lunch line. She sighs. “You’re right, I was stupid to think differently.” Valentina smiles, taking a sip of the water bottle sitting beside her.

“Deli platter, please,” Rena says to the lunch lady, who continues to give him a dirty look while receiving his food. He looks around the lunchroom as he determines where to sit—as if anyone would want the so-called murderer sitting beside them. Rena sighs as the lunch lady hands him his platter, her dirty face remaining. As he swipes his card, a girl stands next to him. “I’ll have the same as he’s having,” She says, a smile spreading across her freckled face. She turns to face Rena, holding out a dainty hand. “Hi, I’m Danielle Clark,” She says in a sweet tone. Rena turns to look at her, skeptical. “Shouldn’t you be running away in fear or something?” Danielle giggles. “Of course not,” She says. “Unlike the rest of these malevolent students, I happen to have a mind of my own.” Rena chuckles as Danielle receives her platter and swipes her card. “That still doesn’t explain why you’re talking to ‘’me’’ or all people, though.” “Well,” She begins. “Maybe I think there’s something sexy and mysterious about hanging out with a guy that ''could'' be a murderer, but the innocence in your face kind of tells me that you couldn’t possibly. hurt a fly.” “Oh trust me, I’ve hurt many flies in my day. Some of them even had the nerve to land on me while doing so!” The two smile. Rena looks away, noticing Ben and another kid sitting at a nearby table as Danielle scribbles something down on a torn off piece of notebook paper. “Look,” She begins. “I’m having a get together later tonight. My parents aren’t home for the next couple of days and everyone’s going.” She sticks the piece of paper in Rena’s breast pocket, patting it. “Do you maybe want to come?” Rena sighs. “I don’t really think I’m in the mood for partying tonight, you know, with the whole arrival thing.” Danielle laughs. “Oh please, it’ll be a great chance to improve your social life here at East Wiksteria. You can bring anyone you want, just don’t bring another girl.” “I wasn’t counting on it,” Rena says while chuckling. He looks back in Ben’s direction, who seems lost in his textbooks. He the turns to face Danielle, who continues to smile. “You know what, I think I’ll be able to make it.” Rena says, a look of excitement coming across Danielle’s face. “Perfect,” She says, grinning.

At the Wiksteria Country Club, Fernando and Justine are seen lounging by the pool as Rena brings out a tray of cocktails for the couple, but instead, when he hands Fernando his, he intentionally trips and drops Justine's. Fernando jumps from his chair, realizing his son's intentions and yells, "Rena Santiago, what is the meaning of this?" Rena shrugs his shoulders. "It was an accident", he nonchalantly remarks. Justine gets down on her hands and knees and starts picking up broken glass. "Honey, leave that! Let the 'socio' clean it up", Fernando snaps, pulling his wife away from the mess. "Honey, I'm sure it ''was'' an accident. Just let me help." Justine gets back on the ground and starts to place the pieces of broken glass in her hand. She looks back up at Rena. "Why don't you go inside and talk to some of the other kids your age." Rena doesn't respond, but instead goes inside. Fernando watches, stunned.

 

> _"Yes, I had just returned home and things were off to a bad start, and everything would soon change. Old friends would start to interact again."_

We see Ben approach Josh in the schoolyard where they greet each other and talk about the old times.

 

> _"New crushes would be formed."_

Alison watches as Rena walks through the school yard alone.

 

> _"Rivalries would grow."_

Emma, Liz, and Isabelle watch in envy as Valentina kisses Josh.

 

> _"A certain slut would find herself in some trouble."_

Danielle devilishly smiles at a pick of Rena.

 

> _"A father would start to resent his son."_

Fernando angrily watches as his son enters the country club.

 

> _"And someone's life would come to an end that very night..."_

 


	2. "Dial R for Murder

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the evening of Danielle's party and everyone arrives, but trouble strikes when Joey isn't pleased with the alleged socio showing up. Meanwhile, Emma steams up drama with Valentina when planting the moves on her boyfriend. And before the night is over, someone is dead...

Alison looks out the country club window as Rena goes into the building. As he walks past her she says, "I saw what you did out there." Rena turns back to see the teenaged girl. "Did what?" he asks, all the while knowing exactly what she meant. "I saw you 'trip', dropping your stepmom's cocktail. I also saw you let her clean it up." Rena grins. "I've been back in society for about a week and I already have a stalker." Alison smiles and puts out her hand. "I'm Alison, I saw you in Principal Sonya's office today." Rena rolls his eyes. "I didn't choke a teacher with a jump rope if that's what you think." "If I thought you did that then I wouldn't be talking to you, now would I?" Rena looks at her confused. "Why are you being so nice to me? It's odd that you want any contact with the town 'socio'." "You allegedly did that six years ago. You pleaded innocent. I remember seeing you on TV and you didn't have the face of someone who was guilty." Rena is left speechless. "I also know that you loved your mother more than anything which is why you are so cold to your dad's new wife." "Justine thinks she can just waltz on in and take the role of my mom. Well, she can't. I wasn't even able to go to the wedding. They didn't even bother taking pictures. I didn't even find out about the bitch's existence until the day I was going home." Rena looks down. "I just wanna go back in time and stop all of this from happening. I lost my two best friends because of this, and practically my entire childhood." "Well, I heard Danielle Clark was having a party tonight. Are you going?" "Yeah, I told her I would make it-", Rena pauses. He glances across the room and sees Benjamin Fitzgerald. Before he could blink, Rena found himself running across the room. "Ben!" Rena says catching up to him. Ben turns and sees his former friend running towards him. He looks away, hoping that the 'socio' didn't see him. Rena is finally able to catch up where he steps in front of Ben, who stares downwards, not making direct eye contact. "Oh, um, hey, Rena", the teenager says, still not looking up. Rena ignores the awkwardness during the meeting and says, "So... Are you going to Danielle's party tonight?" Ben finally looks up, nervously. "How do you know Danielle?" "We met at lunch. She was really nice. To be honest, I just think she wants to get into my pants, but still." "Well... I wasn't planning on going... Josh will be there and we haven't talked in ages. Him and that religion-crazy bitch he's dating..." The two stand in silence for a moment. Ali catches up to them. "Oh, hey Ali", Ben says, hoping for his interaction with Rena to be slightly less awkward. "Are you going to Danielle's party?" "I hadn't planned on it. Like I said to Rena, Josh and Val will be there and I don't know if I want to go through that." "BENNNNJAMMMINNN!!!" calls Gloria Fitzgerald. The woman in her late forties storms over to her son and his two friends. She sees Rena and screams, "Ahhhhh!!! Ohh sweet Jesus, get that killer out of here!" She grabs her son's arm. "As for you, Ben, I don't ever want you associating with that freak, or even the skanks that hang around him", Gloria says, now looking at Ali. She glances back at her son and utters, "You are such a disappointment. Let's leave before you humiliate me even more." Gloria grabs her son's arm and storms out of the country club. Ali rolls her eyes. "I hate that woman. All she knows how to do is bitch. When her husband died of cancer, he was probably relieved to be rid of the cold-hearted cunt." As the girl rambles on and on about Gloria, Rena can't help but grin. Ali sees this and smiles back. On the other side of the room, a man in his late forties motions Ali to hurry up. She turns to Rena, "Well, I gotta go. My dad's waiting. See you at Danielle's party." The two smile at one another and Rena watches as his new friend hurries along. Rena stands alone for a moment, smiling, until a familiar voice is heard, "So it looks like you made a new friend", -- It's Justine. His smile drops as he turns to his stepmother, "And what does it matter to you?" "I'm just happy you're starting to get along with other people after being gone for so long." "Well I'd like it if you stayed out of my social life." Rena storms away without looking back. An expression of sadness comes across Justine's face. She then looks at her hand which is now bleeding from the pieces of broken glass she's holding.

"THAT BITCH!" Danielle Clark says as she and Emma enter the Delatour manor. "Yeah, the religious nut threatens me to stay away from him. If Valentina would cut the "good Christian" crap and just bang her boyfriend already, then all the other women would know that he is ''hers.''" "I never liked her. The only reason others do is just because she's dating Josh Fisher. She's nothing without him." "Which is why I need him! I'm gonna destroy that bitch if it is the last thing I do. Everything good in her life will be ripped away, and I'll be there to enjoy the show,” she says, smiling ever so devilishly. “By the way, I thought we were going to meet together for lunch today? Where were you?” Danielle grins. “Only two can keep a secret if one of them is dead,” she exclaims, Emma rolling her eyes. The two go upstairs to the former's bedroom, but before they enter the room, they hear load moaning. Emma and Danielle worriedly look at each other. "Who the hell is that?" "My Aunt Janine..." Emma says with her head down.

Inside the master bedroom, 41-year-old Janine Delatour collapses on the bed with her 28-year-old pool boy. "Oh, Ernesto, that was great. But you need to get going now, my niece and her friend will be home in a few minutes." "Anytime, Señora Delatour. I'll get going." "Oh, honey, please, it's ''Señorita''. These boobs don't settle down." Ernesto grins before passionately kissing his lover. After getting dressed, Ernesto and Janine both exit the bedroom where they find Emma and Danielle waiting outside the door. Janine jumps. "Oh, girls, you're here..." Emma crosses her arms. "Yes, and is there anything you'd like to tell me?" Janine's cheeks turn red of embarrassment. "Haha, funny story, well, um... No..." Janine goes back into her bedroom, closing and locking the door behind her so Ernesto, Emma, and Danielle can't get in. Emma glares at Ernesto, who's left embarrassed. "Oh, Señorita Cassidy, I better get going." "I think you better!" Emma says, pointing to the staircase leading out the door.

At the Swift manor, Valentina and Alison are in the bathroom, freshening up for Danielle's party. "So I heard you've been associating yourself with the town 'socio'", Valentina says as she applies her eyeliner. "If you must know, yes, I have been talking to Rena. He's a really nice guy and I honestly don't think he killed his mother", Alison responds before putting on her lipstick. "Oh honey, don't let yourself fall for that nice guy act. He's just trying to fit in until his next attack. All he is is an unholy demon sent by the devil to harm those who are pure and innocent in life." "I don't think so. There's just something about him. He's just so-" "Enough of this! If you speak to that untouchable one more time, so help me I will-" A knock is heard at the half-open bathroom door. It's Alison's father, Andrew. "You girls almost ready?" "Yeah, just give us a few", Valentina says. Andrew obliges and leaves the girls alone. Once Val sees he's gone, she turns to Ali, "Tonight is gonna be fun! I'm going with Josh and we set you up with Joey Davis. You are to have zero contact with Rena, and if you do, I will destroy you! Do you understand?" Ali nods in agreement. Val smiles, "Good. Now let's go find your dad to take us to the party." The two girls exit the bathroom, but as Val heads downstairs, Ali hurries into her room where she opens her nightstand drawer. She looks in, now furious with Valentina. She pulls out a pocket knife and places it into her purse. She closes the drawer and hurries downstairs.

At the Clark estate, music blares as students cohort, brightly colored alcoholic beverages in hand. We are treated to the image of Emma descending down a staircase, ferociously typing at her phone's keyboard. She flicks her hair back before accidentally bumping into another girl, beer spilling all over one of her aunt's signature designs. "You bitch!" Emma exclaims as she raises a fist. Danielle then swoops behind the girl with a smile. "Now, no need to get hostile," she says with a bitchy smile. She glares at the other girl, who leaves the two to be alone. Emma turns to face her. "You're lucky I was here to save your ass, that girl's dad is one hell of a lawyer," Danielle says as Emma tries to wipe the soaked beer from her dress. "Do you know how much this costs?!" she exclaims in a furious voice. "Mustn't have been much, considering it was made by ''your'' aunt," Danielle smiles, as she turns her attention to the front of the room. "It's like ''The Help'' gone awry." Emma looks away, embarrassed. She then turns and sees Josh standing alone, waiting for Val and Ali.

Emma makes her way over to the man of her dreams and says, "So, were you stood up?" Josh looks down, trying to keep some distance between his girlfriend's enemy, "No, she just texted me saying she's on her way." Emma deviously smiles as she takes Josh's cup of beer and places it on an end table. "Well until she gets here, I don't think it's fair you spend your time alone." The teenaged girl girl moves in on Josh, and before he could say anything, he finds the tongue of a girl he despises making its way down his throat. He tries to resist at first, but eventually gives in.

Several rooms down, incoming through the front door is Danielle's mother, Helena Clark. She comes in with four twelve-packs of beer. Danielle hurries to the door and helps her mother. "Mom, is there anything else in the car?" "Yes, there's two bags. One with tampons and one with pregnancy tests. I figured we might as well keep them around if you plan to have another party like this." Danielle ignores her mother's remark and they carry the packs of beer to the kitchen.

Out by the pool in the back, Joey and a few of his jock friends hold James over the diving board. The jocks yell "DUNK THAT NERD, DUNK THAT NERD!!!" "No, no, please, I don't know how to swim", James pleads. Joey spits in the boy's face, "Sorry, loser." And Joey throws James into the pool, and the jocks laugh as James struggles to make his way out. All of a sudden everyone gasps. They look at the deck entrance where they see Rena, making his way to the pool. Joey and his friends make their way over to the 'socio'. "What do we have here?" Joey exclaims. "Damn, you had some nerve showing up here." Joey and the jocks start to corner Rena. "The only reason I came was because of Danielle, not so I could put up with your shit." Rena tries to get through Joey and his friends, but they push him back. Joey grins, "You're not going anywhere. We aren't about to watch you kill another innocent woman. We're gonna make you wish you never came back to Wiksteria." The jocks corner Rena closer and closer to the wall, and as they all lift their fists, someone yells "DON'T YOU DARE!!!" It's Danielle. Joey turns to her, "Dani, why don't you go and enjoy your party while we take care of business." A furious Danielle knees Joey in the groin and says, "Why don't you and your wannabe-mob crew find someone else to harass." Danielle pulls Joey in close, "And if you ever call me Dani again, I will use all my power to destroy everything you've ever loved, and crush you to dust." An intimidated Joey steps back, and he and his crew leave Danielle and Rena alone. Danielle helps Rena up, "Are you alright?" she asks. "Yeah, but maybe I should go home." Rena starts making his way to the indoor entrance, but Danielle stops him. "No, wait. Just ignore people like Joey. You just got out of jail for allegedly murdering your mother, of course there will be people like him. You just gotta keep your chin held up high, and your middle finger even higher." Rena and Danielle smile. "I guess I could stay a while longer." Danielle kisses Rena. "In twenty minutes, I want you to meet me in the upstairs bedroom. It's the first door on the right." "I'll be there." Danielle and Rena go inside where they part ways.

Danielle makes her way to the front door where Val and Ali come in. Danielle looks at Val, "And look what the cat dragged in. BTW, I heard Emma was in the coat closet fucking your boyfriend." Val smirks, "Josh wouldn't hook up with trash like her. He has better taste than that." Danielle grins. "I'd check to be sure." Valentina waits a minute, trying to prove she trusts her boyfriend, but ends up breaking down and running to find him. After she's gone, Danielle smiles and hugs Ali. "Hiii, what took so long?" "My dad had car troubles." Ali then notices the pink heart necklace hanging from Danielle's neck. "Um, where did you get that?" "Oh, uh, I went to Storywik on vacation and it was at some gift shop, why?" "Oh, just wondering..." "Well, nice seeing you. I gotta go upstairs and take care of something", Danielle says with a grin on her face. Alison watches as her slutty friend makes her way up the stairs. She can't help but keep her eyes on the necklace. She opens up her purse to make sure her knife is still there.

She proceeds to make her way out to the pool when all of a sudden she feels a hard slap on the ass -- it's Joey, a ''drunk'' Joey. "Hey, hey, hey, it's my hoe of the night, Ms. Tay- Taylor Swift." Ali rolls her eyes. "It's Alison." "Po- Potato, pototo. Wh- Who gives a fu- fuck?" "I do, and if touch me like that one more time, I will hang you by your teenie, tiny cock." "Sumbitch got anger issues. You needa beer." Joey takes the can of beer from his hand and shoves it in Ali's face. "You th- thirsty?" Ali's face now shows an expression of enragement.

From by the pool, everyone is laughing and having a good time until they hear Ali yell "GET OUT!!!" And she pushes Joey out the door and into the pool. "I HOPE YOU DROWN IN SHIT, YOU UNBEARABLE CREEP!!!"

Back inside the estate, Valentina is making her way down a hallway where she hears moaning and stuff being knocked over in a closet. Her jaw drops and she runs over and opens the door -- Emma is giving Josh a blow job. Valentina screams "SON OF A BITCH!!!" Emma and Josh look up and Emma wickedly grins. "Oh, hi Val." Josh quickly stands and pulls up his pants. He and Emma exit the closet. "Okay, Val, you're probably mad, but I can explain. Just give me the chance", Josh pleads. Val's face is now red. "You. Filthy. Cocksucker." Josh is now confused, "Me?" Valentina ignores her unfaithful boyfriend, pushes him out of the way, and tackles Emma. "YOU STUPID BITCH!!!" Val screams in Emma's ear. The two girls fight as Josh tries to pull them apart. "Girls, girls, no." "BITCH", Emma screams. "CUNT", Val screams back. The two girls go rolling down the hall and into the den. People gather around as a hair-pulling, eye-scratching fight between Val and Emma goes down. People take out their phones and start recording. Alison smirks as she sees Emma taking down her (now semi-ex-)friend. Joey and his jock friends try betting to see who will win. James just watches with a dopey grin on his face and all of a sudden realizes he has a boner. Josh manages to pull the two girls apart. Valentina stands up, her hair id now a mess, one of the heels on her shoe is broken, her shirt is torn, and her mascara is smeared. She grabs Josh's arm and storms outside and onto the front yard. She spits in his face. "I never want to see you again. All you are is an unholy demon and should go back to hell where you belong. It's so over and you can find another ride home, because you sure as hell are not coming with me." Josh watches as Val starts to limp home. She trips over a half-emptied beer can. "FUCK!" Val kicks the car next to her and continues limping. Josh sighs and a tear rolls down his eye.

In the den, Emma, Ali, Joey, James, and a group of others are laughing and cheering to Val's failure. Alison then gets a text from an unknown number saying "''Use the knife and send the body to Silvers.''" Alison excuses herself, and makes her way upstairs.

In an upstairs bedroom, Rena and Danielle collapse on the bed, half naked. "That was great", Rena says with a grin. "Meh, I've had better", Danielle replies. Rena frowns. Danielle sits up, "Well, now that that's over, why don't you get going?" "Oh... Okay... I guess..." "Great", Danielle says, now lighting a cigarette. Rena gathers his clothes and goes to the bathroom down the hall. Alison makes her way upstairs and looks around to make sure no one sees her. She goes into Danielle's room where she finds her friend smoking a cigarette. Danielle sees her friend, huffs one last puff of smoke, and flicks her cigarette out the window. "Hi, Alison, what's up?" "Oh, um, we need to talk." "Uh, sure... What's it about?" Alison goes to the bedroom door and locks it. "First of all, where did you really get that necklace?" Danielle remains silent.

In the bathroom down the hall, Rena splashes water in his face. He turns off the sink and hears yelling from Danielle's room. He hurries out of the room and puts his ear against the bedroom door. He hears Alison yell "GIVE ME THE FUCKING NECKLACE YOU EVIL SKANK!!!" Rena's jaw drops. He then hears Danielle yell "FUCK OFF!!! AFTER WHAT THAT SICK BASTARD DID, HE DESERVES WHAT HE'S GETTING!!!" Rena is left confused. He then hears glass shatter and Danielle says, "Wha- what are you doing? No. Put that down. No, no, NO!!!" Rena barges into the room where he sees Alison stabbing Danielle in the stomach. Rena's jaw drops. Alison and Danielle glance in his direction. "H- help", Danielle pleads. Alison stabs Danielle one last time in the gut, and the last remaining bit of life in her drains out. Rena is silent. "I- I can explain", Alison says as she breaks down into tears.


	3. "It Takes One to Know One"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After witnessing Ali kill Danielle, the alleged socio, Rena, helps his new friend dispose of the body, but it may be more than he can handle. Meanwhile, Josh goes to Ben for help winning back Val, but the determined Emma may stand in their way.

"I-I can explain", Alison cries. She drops the knife and pleads, "Please, please don't call the police. PLEASE!!!" Rena stands motionless as Alison begs. "What did you do?..." Rena asks, shocked, "Why... would you do this?" More tears come from Ali's eyes. Rena goes on, "What on earth would give you the right to take her life? Were you doing this because of some sick pleasure?" "Please... stop." "WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS?" Ali finally manages to stop crying. "BECAUSE I HAD TOO!!! THERE ARE SOME THINGS I KNOW ABOUT THIS GIRL THAT GAVE ME NO OTHER CHOICE!!! THERE ARE PEOPLE SUFFERING BECAUSE OF HER, AND I COULD'NT LET IT GO ON ANY LONGER!!!" Rena doesn't respond. Alison kicks the dead girl's head, "Well, I did what I had to do. Just call the cops already so they send me away." "No..." Rena says with a stern look. "Why?" "I believe you had your reasons for killing Danielle. And a guilty killer not going to jail makes up for an innocent person who did. Now the question is, what do we do with her?" "Well... My orders were to send her to a um, friend..." "Does your father know about any of this?" "No, of course not. He's been completely oblivious to what I've been involved in since the start." "Well, who's this friend that wants Danielle?" "Someone that you don't wanna know. Silvers is helping me with some family issues and this is just something that needs to happen..." "Well, when does Silvers get the body?" "First we bury it and then Silvers comes and picks it up. But we can't be around." "Why? How will we know he got it?" "We won't... But we'll never see it again and it will no longer be our problem." "Oh, God." Rena's head drops into his hands. He looks back up. "Jesus, Ali. Why? Why did you have to do this?" "Because... now just go downstairs and get a couple trash bags or something." "No, you gotta wrap her up in a tarp or something." "And how do you plan on getting her out of the house?" Rena thinks for a moment, "Go downstairs, get a tarp, and wait outside this window", Rena says, pointing to the window next to Danielle's bed.

Outside of the Clark estate, Ali throws a pebble at the window outside of Danielle's bedroom. Rena opens it and says, "You got the tarp?" "I couldn't find one, but I took the rug from the den. Everyone was either passed out or too drunk to notice. Now what?" Ali watches as Rena leaves the window. He returns, dragging Danielle's corpse by her legs. Ali's confused, "What the hell are you doing?" Rena ignores his friend's confusion and yells "Catch!" Incoming from the upstairs of the Clark estate is Danielle's corpse, as Rena pushes it out the window. "OH MY GOD!!!" Ali yells in horror. "Keep your voice down", Rena says as he puts his finger over his lips, motioning the girl to be quiet.

Deep in the woods of Wiksteria Park, Rena and Ali drive up to a ditch. They step out of their car and open up the trunk. The two friends both take an end of the rug with Danielle's corpse inside and drag her over to the ditch. "I can take it from here. You can wait in the car", Ali says. Rena obliges. Ali slightly unwraps the rug, revealing Danielle's pale and bloody face. Ali gets up close to the corpse's face where she whispers, "I know what I did was horrible. That you didn't necessarily deserve death. But that's what happened. You did some horrible things to my family and you had to pay for your sins. When you found out about what happened, the right thing to do was to go to the police, but no, you blackmailed, and you should've known someone would come after you. Burn in hell, bitch. Burn in hell." Ali looks at the necklace on Danielle's neck. She yanks it off before covering up the dead girl's face, and pushing the rug into the ditch. As Ali watches the corpse of her former friend roll into the ditch, tears fall from her eyes. Rena watches from the car, worried about what will happen next.

Back at the Clark estate, Josh waits outside when a car shows up. "Need a lift?" calls out a familiar voice -- it's Ben. Josh hurries to the car and gets in. "Thanks... Sorry if I woke you up." "It's okay, but we have to be quick. My mother doesn't know I'm up." Ben starts driving down the road and asks, "So where's Val? I heard you were going home with her." Josh looks down. "She... broke up with me..." "Oh... Well if you don't mind me asking, what happened?" "Emma Cassidy happened." "Oh?" Ben asks, confused. Josh continues, "Before Val got to the party, Emma sorta... gave me a BJ..." Ben's jaw drops and he slams on the breaks. "Whoa, whoa, whoa... Whoa. So you mean your dick-" "Yes" "And her lips-" "Yes" "Were... together?..." "Yes." "Well... does this mean you're over Val?" "No, not at all. I... love her..." "Well, you're not getting her back easily after what you did. If you want any help, you know where to find me." Ben pulls up to Josh's house to let him out. Before getting out, Josh turns to his former friend and says, "Thanks... I might just take you up on that offer." Josh steps out of the car and runs to his house. Ben watches for a moment before driving off.

The next morning, Emma wakes up in the front yard of the Clark estate. She looks around where she sees several people passed out. She groans before getting out her phone and texting Isabelle and Liz to come pick her up.

About an hour later, Emma, who has clearly taken a shower and washed the dress she wore the night before, stands outside while waiting for her friends. A car horn is honked and coming down the road is a black convertible with Liz driving and Isabelle in the back. "Get in", yells Isabelle. Emma obliges.

As Liz drives, Emma tells her and Isabelle about the night before. "So while I was in the middle of giving Josh a BJ, that cow Valentina shows up and ruins the whole thing. The cunt tried to fight me, but of course, I kicked her ass. After breaking up with Josh, she stormed off in tears. It was perfect. Best night ever." "Now you just have to make Josh yours," Liz exclaims. "And have Valentina watch", Isabelle says. Emma wickedly grins. "And this is why I keep you two around." Liz and Isabelle grin.

At Wiksteria Church, Valentina sits in one of the pews, reading a bible while her mother, Celeste, the church's pianist, practices playing. Pastor Dean watches, but can't help but notice Valentina looking a little down. He sits with her and asks what's wrong. Val, who feels a little uncomfortable talking to the pastor about her troubles, says "Oh, um, Josh and I... well, we broke up last night." "Why?..." the pastor says, nervous about what his son did. "He... um... no, I can't. I'm not comfortable about telling his own father. You're gonna have to ask him yourself. I'm sorry." "Oh, Valentina, it's okay. Whatever he did, I'm very sorry about it. I'll have to talk to him." "Please, no. He... we just weren't meant to be." Val feels tears forming and runs out of the church. Celeste, who is still playing the piano misses a key and yells "JESUS CHRIST!" Pastor Dean glares at her and she says, trying to save herself from trouble with the pastor, "Jesus Christ, have mercy on my daughter who has just had her heart broken."

Outside the church, Valentina sobs into her arms. Josh is seen approaching the building and sees his ex in tears. He doesn't know if he should talk to her or sneak away. He ends up approaching her. He taps her on her shoulder and says, "Val... are you okay?" Valentina looks up and a look of anger comes across her face. "You cheating bastard. What the hell do you want?" "I'm... I'm sorry..." "Sorry??? Sorry??? You're SORRY??? YOU HAD YOUR FUCKING COCK SHOVED DOWN EMMA CASSIDY'S THROAT!!! YOU STUPID, MOTHERFUCKING CUNT!!!!! HOW THE FUCK CAN YOU JUST SAY YOU'RE SORRY AFTER HUMILIATING ME IN FRONT OF EVERY PERSON I KNOW???? I HOPE EMMA CHOKES ON YOUR COCK AND THAT THE DOCTORS HAVE TO CUT IT OFF IN ORDER FOR HER TO EVER GET IT OUT OF HER FUCKING THROAT!!! BURN IN HELL YOU PIG!!!" Val spits in her former boyfriend's face before storming away. Josh looks down, now sad. He then remembers what Ben said and takes out his phone to call him. After ringing for about twenty seconds, Ben answers and Josh tells him he'd like to take him up on his offer from earlier.

At the Swift manor, Alison lies in her bed, asleep, when her phone vibrates from under her pillow. She sits up and checks her cellular. It shows a text from Rena, telling her to meet him at the country club in an hour.

Not too long later, Ali is seen hurrying down the stairs and runs into the kitchen where her father, Andrew, is eating a bagel. "Daddy, I need to meet up with some friends at the country club. Can I borrow your car?" "Who are you going to see?" "Oh... uh.... just Valentina." "Well, I guess. The keys are in the den." "Thanks, daddy", Alison says, kissing her father on the cheek.

Rena waits outside of the country club where Ali pulls up. He jumps into the front seat and tells her to drive. "Where to?" Alison asks. "The ditch..." A worried look comes across Ali's face, but she proceeds to drive. "Can I ask what this is about?" Ali asks. "If Silvers doesn't get that body, we are in deep shit. Our fingerprints are all over the corpse and it is easily visible if you look into that ditch. Not to mention, there is blood all over Danielle's room. The moment her mother sobers up, she's gonna go check on her daughter and when she can't find Danielle, but instead finds the blood splattered room, it's all over." "Rena, you have to forget about Danielle. That body is gone, Silvers got the body and will destroy it. Don't worry." "And what about the blood splattered bedroom?" Ali thinks for a moment. "I... I can fix that..." "What do you mean?" "I mean, I'll take care of it. Just... trust me. This will all be over shortly." "Well, I still wanna see the ditch. You know, just to make sure the body's gone." "Fine", Ali says, now kind of annoyed.

Back at the Wiksteria Church, Ben's car pulls up into the parking lot. Josh hurries over and tells him that it took him long enough. Ben apologizes and says he had to drop his mother off at the country club. "Well, Val is still really mad", Josh says. "Of course she is. She walked in on your dick in some other girl's mouth. She has every right to be mad." "Um, you're not helping." "If you want Val's forgiveness, I can tell you right now that it ain't gonna happen. But you can show her that you love her. And if you do that, it may ease down the anger." "But I don't know how. I mean, I love her, I just don't know how to show it." Josh and Ben think for a moment. "You could always forget the skank and be with me", says a familiar voice. The boys turn around and see Emma. Josh steps back. "Please, stay away from me. I think you've done enough." Emma grins and moves in closer to her crush. "Oh baby, c'mon, be mine. You know you wanna." Emma grabs Josh's head and pulls it up close where she starts kissing him. Ben's jaw drops, and Valentina returns to the church right in the middle of the make-out session. Josh, not noticing his former girlfriend has arrived, pushes Emma away and grabs her by the throat. As the slut struggles to breathe, Josh yells, "Listen to me, and listen carefully. All you are is a pig, a dirty, filthy, disgusting pig. All you do is ruin lives in order to get what you want, and after I'm done talking, you are to never speak to me again! Are we clear?" Emma nods as she tries to breathe. Valentina watches from her car, in shock. Ben tries to convince Josh to release Emma, but he continues talking, "And you are to never speak of this encounter to anyone. If you do, so help me, God, I will destroy you. Now get this through your head, I love VALENTINA GOLD!!! I will scream it from a rooftop if I have to." Emma nods as the tears roll down her face. Ben finally yells, "Josh, she gets it, let go of her before she's suffocated to death!" A furious Josh finally releases her, pushing the poor girl to the ground. Emma inhales a big breath of air before she starts sobbing. "Now go back to the gutters where you belong", Josh says, before storming inside the church, slamming the doors behind him. Ben kneels down on the ground next to Emma and comforts her as she cries and gasps for air. Val watches from her car, and a small, forgiving smile appears on her face.

Josh kneels in one of the church pews, praying for forgiveness for choking Emma. Valentina enters the church and kneels down and prays in the same pew as her former boyfriend. Josh doesn't notice she's there, and after she finishes a prayer, she takes one of his hands. Josh looks up at Val and slightly smiles. "Hi..." he says, slightly awkwardly. "Hey", Val says, not nearly as awkwardly. "I love you," they say at the same time. At this they smile and hug.

Back outside the church, Ben and Emma are seen sitting on the church steps, passionately kissing.

At the Wiksteria Park, deep in the woods, Rena and Ali come up to the ditch that they threw Danielle's body in. They look down and see that it's empty. "See? Told you Silvers came and got the body", Ali says. Rena looks back in the ditch a second time, just to be sure. "K, looks like you were right." "Well, all's well that ends well." Rena agrees, but then remembers -- Danielle's blood-filled bedroom. "Ali... do you think Helena woke up yet?" "Why?..." She then remembers too, "Oh shit..."

At the Clark estate, it's 2:00PM and Helena gets out of bed. Her head still hurts from a nasty hangover from the night before, but she manages to make it out of her bedroom. The woman makes her way down the hall and is disgusted by the mess from her daughter's party the night before. Helena opens up the door to Danielle's bedroom and notices her bed is empty. She looks around and notices the blood stain on the carpet. At first she doesn't realize what it is, but after getting a closer look, she says, "What the hell?" She looks around and sees the bloody knife that was used to killed her daughter and screams, "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"


	4. "Fire Power"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After finding the bloody knife in Danielle's bedroom, Helena phones the police about the disappearance of her daughter, thus worrying Rena and Ali about what the future has in store for them. Meanwhile, Val decides that being a goodie-two-shoes Christian girl is getting old and chooses to explore her options with Josh.

"9-1-1, what's your emergency?" says a woman on the other side of Helena Clark's phone. "My, my daughter... she... she's disappeared. I came into her room this morning and there's a blood stain on the ground and a BLOODY KNIFE!" Helena says in tears.

We flash to the outside of the Clark estate where there are three police cars and a camera crew. The front yard is covered in yellow caution tape. Fernando and Justine arrive where Justine hugs her friend, Helena. "So, you think your daughter was murdered?" Justine asks. "Oh, probably. I mean, what else? I found a huge blood stain in her room and a bloody knife. She was probably stabbed", Helena exclaims. Fernando rolls his eyes and says, "If Danielle was killed, whoever the killer was did a bad job. There are probably fingerprints everywhere. The only way to get rid of the evidence would be to torch the house." "Shhhh", Helena says. "If the killer is around here, we don't need to be giving him or her any ideas! I already lost my daughter. I don't need to lose my house."

As Justine and Fernando continue talking to Helena, Josh and Val arrive at the estate. They look around. Josh has his arm wrapped around his beloved girlfriend. "Babe, could you imagine being Helena? Having to go through losing her daughter", Josh asks. Val scoffs, "Danielle was a slut. The day she died, this world became a better place." Josh ignores the rude comment, but Val continues, "If only you choked Emma a little while longer. Life would finally be perfect." Josh can't help but smile at Val's last remark. The two look at each other and smile. "Like two peas in a pod", says a familiar voice -- it's Emma. "What happened to our agreement?" says Josh, who's gone from happy to outraged within seconds. "I'm not here to see you. I came with someone. As far as I'm concerned, you can choke on shit", Emma says with a grin. Valentina gets in between her boyfriend and rival and says, "K, um, who would wanna take you anywhere? I mean, you're a whore." Ben comes up behind Emma and wraps his arm around her. "Hey, babe, according to Val, you like taking whores where you go", Emma says. Ben frowns. Josh and Val are in shock. "Ben, what the fuck", Josh says, uncomfortably. Emma grins and says, "What's wrong, Josh? Jealous you couldn't have me?" Her grin grows bigger and her hand grabs Ben's testicles. "Oh look, haha, bigger than yours." Emma takes Ben's hand and they walk away, leaving Josh and Val pissed and disgusted.

Rena and Ali pull up to the country club. They go inside the building and find Joey Davis, Gloria Fitzgerald, James Duong, and several other people gathered by a TV. Rena asks what's going on, and Joey states "The slut that saved your ass was killed. Her mom found a bloody knife in her room and blood everywhere. Now that she's gone, no one is here to save you, so watch your back." Joey intentionally shoves Rena out of the way as he goes out to the pool. Gloria looks at Rena, disgusted, "I bet you killed her. The first day the town socio returns home, a teenaged slut goes missing and blood is found everywhere. Poor Fernando and Justine, having to live with the fact that they're your parents. You will burn away in hell for your sins." Rena looks down, saddened, but mad. Ali looks guilty, but no one notices. Everyone just stares at Rena who they all now believe killed Danielle. "Mrs. Fitzgerald, we should go to the police", James suggests. Gloria rolls her eyes and says, "Many believe Asians are supposed to be the smartest, but I'm pretty sure you're just a dumbass. We have no case. All we know is that Mr. Santiago killed his mother." "''Allegedly...''" Ali says, trying to make things a little better. Rena continues to remain silent. "''Allegedly'' my ass. That's just what the police say because they couldn't find any real evidence, but I know there is some", Gloria says in a bitchy manner. Rena starts to walk back to the car outside and Ali hurries to catch up. "Rena, wait." But he keeps walking, ignoring the person who really did kill Danielle. Alison finally catches up and grabs Rena's arm. "Let. Me. Go!" Rena says, more pissed than ever, but Ali refuses. "Look, I'm sorry. I know what's happening is pretty bad." "''Pretty'' bad? ''PRETTY'' BAD??? This is REALLY bad. The police are gonna find evidence in Danielle's house that I had something to do with the murder." "No! I will take all the blame. I won't let you go to jail for a crime you did not commit." "Don't you understand? I did commit a crime. I helped you bury the body. I was the one to wrap her up in a rug and shove her out the window. I was the one who drove us to the ditch and helped get her out of the car. I was the one that didn't alert the police for you killing her in the first place." "As far as I'm concerned, you had nothing to do with it. You had sex with her, left to clean up, I killed her and disposed of the body. I took your car without you knowing and gave the keys back later. THAT is the story we will stick with if the police show up." "They will show up. Everyone thinks I killed my mother and then my first night home, a girl I had sex with goes missing and her room is covered in blood. Yeah, they're gonna come right to me. And Joey was the last person to see Danielle other than me and you, and he saw us walk off together. I just, I just don't know what to-" Ali kisses Rena. He doesn't know what to say. Ali puts her finger over his lips and says, "Everything will be okay." Rena is silent for a moment, but then pulls her in where they kiss again.

At the Gold manor, Valentina and Josh are both reading a bible in the former's bedroom when all of a sudden, Val slams hers shut and says, "Let's have sex!" Josh looks up, shocked. "Uh, what?" "Yeah, right here, right now. My parents are both at the church, so we have the whole place to ourselves." Josh is still confused. "What happened to the whole wanting to save yourself for marriage thing?" "Well, when I walked in on Emma sucking your cock, I decided, fuck it. I want some action." "Um, well, you should know that all Emma did was... you know... We never actually did anything. Well, I never actually did anything." Val pulls her boyfriend in closely and says, "Your dick was in Emma's mouth. You owe me for life. Now let's fuck!"  
About ten minutes later, Josh and Val lie in bed, awkwardly looking away from one another. Josh finally asks, "Do you... know how?" Val, without looking at her boyfriend says, "I've seen it on TV... But what do you expect? I'm a really religious virgin. I... never really wanted to, you know, have sex..." The couple continues to look away from one another.

At the Fitzgerald home, Emma and Ben lie in bed, smiling at one another. "Best. Sex. Ever!" Ben exclaims. The two kiss and go under the covers.

At the Santiago home, Rena, Fernando, and Justine eat dinner in silence. Finally, a furious Fernando slams his fist down on the table and says, "Okay, enough of this, Rena, did you kill Danielle Clark?" Justine chokes on a piece of chicken, but has a sip of water to get it down. She turns to her husband and says, "Honey, what the hell are you doing?" "I'm asking my son a question, now please stay out of it." Fernando turns back to Rena and repeats the question. Rena remains silent and even more pissed than before. Fernando stands up from his seat and grabs Rena by the arm, dragging him to the front door. "Whoa, whoa, what are you doing?" the teenaged boy asks. Fernando growls and says, "I wanna believe you didn't kill Silvia, but I'm having a hard time. Then you're a jerk to my wife, and you refuse to deny killing Danielle Clark. Until this stuff straightens out, you're no longer welcome in my home." Fernando opens the door and shoves Rena outside. Justine gasps at the sight. Fernando slams the door, and takes his wife's hand and drags her back to the dinner table as if nothing happened. Outside the Santiago home, Rena stands motionless and in complete shock. He looks around his street and realizes that no one would take him in. As he starts walking down the road tears fall from his eyes.

Outside the Clark estate, Alison arrives with a can of gasoline and box of matches. She looks into one of the upstairs windows and sees Helena painting her nails. Ali makes her way to the side of the estate where she starts pouring the gasoline on the house. Helena hears noise from outside and opens her window and asks if anyone was there. Ali ignores the mother of the girl she killed the night before, and continues to pour gasoline and lights up matches that she throws at the house. Inside, Helena smells smoke and opens her bedroom door where she sees her entire house on fire. "AAAAAAAHHHHHH, FIRE, FIRE!!!" Back outside, Ali watches from her car as the house starts burning to the ground. All the neighbors come out and gasp. They start calling the police and fire department. Inside, we see Danielle's bedroom and any evidence the police could use against Rena and Ali is destroyed. Inside Helena's bedroom, her corpse lies on the ground from suffocating from the smoke.

Not too long later, Rena walks up the road and sees the house, still on fire. The police and fire department are there, as are all the neighbors. Rena's jaw drops and all he can say is, "Oh, shit..."


	5. "Sorrow"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ali and Andrew take Rena in after being kicked out by Fernando. Emma brings out Ben's dark side, thus creating a problems for his and Josh's rebuilding friendship.

Rena watches from up the street where the Clark estate goes up in flames. An expression of anger appears on his face as he knows exactly who is responsible -- Ali. He looks around to make sure no one saw him and starts running as far away from Danielle's former home as he can. Once having made it a few streets away, he takes out his phone and calls Ali. She answers the phone on the other line with a simple "Hey." Rena, with a stern look, says "We need to talk!" Ali, knowing exactly what it is about, acts as if she doesn't. Rena tells her to meet him on the corner of 1st Wikia Drive in twenty minutes and hangs up.

Twenty minutes later, Ali arrives in her car, and Rena gets in. As they drive, Ali asks what this is all about and Rena tells her that he knows she burned down Helena and Danielle's house. Ali remains silent for a moment, but finally says, "I had to destroy the evidence..." "So you had to burn down the entire house? AND kill Mrs. Clark?" "Well, I wasn't trying to kill Helena. I just wanted to burn the house down." "Then why don't you do it when she's not home?" Ali slams on her breaks and turns to Rena. "You wanna know why I make these choices? You wanna know why I've killed these people? BECAUSE THEY'RE ORDERS AND I'M TRYING TO PROTECT THE PEOPLE I FUCKING LOVE!!! Danielle was blackmailing my family, so I got rid of her. Then when I realized we were both gonna end up in prison because of the evidence in Danielle's room I burned the place down. Killing Helena was an accident, but you know what, it was meant to happen. Everything happens for a reason, Rena." "Well why don't you tell me all that was going on with Danielle and your family?" "Uh, no. This is no one's business except mine and my families'. Now are we done? Can I drop you off at home?" Rena doesn't respond. Ali asks him what's wrong. "My dad... he just kicked me out. He asked if I killed Danielle and when I didn't respond, he said I wasn't welcomed in his house until there was proof I'm innocent." Ali's jaw drops, "Oh my God, Rena. I'm so sorry. At my house, we have a spare bedroom... my dad would probably let you stay." Rena's kind of shocked. "Oh... um, well, I-" "Oh just say yes. I dragged you into a murder cover-up and got you kicked out of your home. Let me try to make it up to you." "Oh, okay. I guess. But... I'm not gonna find any... bodies, am I?" "Um, no. I just pile them up in the basement. No biggie." Rena looks at her in shock. She smiles and says, "Kidding." Rena awkwardly chuckles and Ali starts driving home.

Monday morning at the Cassidy manor, Emma's alarm clock beeps and she wakes up, naked, next to Ben. He starts to wake up too, and smiles when he sees his new lover, but then he remembers his mother. "Oh fuck, I'm supposed to be at home. My mom is gonna freak." Emma rolls on top of her nervous boyfriend and tells him not to worry. "Gloria doesn't have to know. Just say you did come home, but left early." "Does Janine know anything?" "Oh please, she's probably asleep with some guy's cock in her mouth right now." Ben looks away, disgusted. "Babe, didn't need to know that." As they get up and start getting dressed, Emma mentions how Joey won't stop leaving her alone. "Him and his jock friends always corner me at my locker and hit on me. Every now and then, one of them will try to grab my boob. I usually spit in their faces, but it doesn't seem to be helping. I was wondering if, maybe, ''you'' could scare them off." Ben is a little uncomfortable. "''Me?''" he asks. "Well, yeah. Don't you wanna stop Joey?" "Can't you go to Principal Sonya? Or even tell Janine?" "Ben, I'm your girlfriend now. You need to stick up for me. I wanna see your dark, tough guy side. Not the little ballerina your mother wants you to be." Ben is a little insulted, but says he'll see what he can do. The couple finish getting dressed and as they start going downstairs, they see Janine in the hall. She sees Ben and stops them. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Emma, uh, why is he here?" "He just slept with me, that's it." Janine turns her attention back to Ben. "Did you wear a condom?" "Well, I, uh, yes." "Okay, you two can go on now. Just checking." Emma and Ben continue down the stairs.

At the Swift manor, Rena enters the kitchen where he sees Andrew making pancakes. "Morning, Mr. Swift." Without looking back, Andrew says, "Morning." Rena sits down at the table and Ali comes in. She sees Rena and hurries over to him. Making sure her father can't hear her, Ali says, "The fire at the Clark estate is all over the news. Everyone thinks that it's the same person who killed Danielle." "Well, in this case they're right. They just think it was someone else." "I know, and I'm sorry. But now there isn't any proof that you or I did it." "Unless someone finds the necklace. What did you do with it?" "I'm hiding it some place where no one will find it." "No, what you need to do is destroy it. If you hide it, there is still a chance that it could be found." "Fine, but we don't have to destroy it." "Yeah, well I'm done letting you make decisions. Look where it's getting us. I'm in charge of this cover-up now." Ali looks down, but nods her head in agreement.

At East Wiksteria High, Ben and Emma are walking through the hall, holding hands, when Josh sees them. He hurries over and asks Ben if he'd like to hang out later. "Oh, sure. I don't have any plans." "Um, Ben?" Emma asks. "Remember? Joey?" The thought comes back to Ben. "Oh, Josh, I'm afraid I can't." "Oh? Why not?" "I'm helping Emma with something." Emma chimes in, "Yeah, so Josh, could you excuse us?" Josh, uncomfortably, walks away. Ben turns to Emma. "That was kind of rude." "Well, honey, get used to it", Emma says before walking off to class.

A few halls down, Rena and Ali enter their first period class. Everyone stares at the alleged socio. One kid yells, "Go back to the gutters where you belong, freak." Rena doesn't respond, but takes his seat in the back. Ali sits in one of the empty seats next to him and apologizes for what he has to go through. A teacher, Ms. Caldea, enters the room. "Good morning, class, I hope you did your report on AAAAHHHHH!!!" the teachers screams before dropping her coffee mug and folder of graded papers. Her scream had been provoked from seeing Rena in the back. "Oh, oh my goodness. Class, I am so sorry. Um, Mr. Santiago, I, uh, think Principal Sonya would like to see you in his office." Rena doesn't respond. He just stands up, grabs his book bag, and leaves. Ali is saddened by the way her friend is treated. She looks into her jacket pocket and pulls out Danielle's necklace. When she sees Ms. Caldea heading in her direction, she quickly slips it back into her pocket and gives the teacher her report.

In Principal Sonya's office, Rena takes a seat. Brad looks up from his phone where he spends most of his day playing Candy Crush. "Mr. Santiago, what brings you here?" "Ms. Caldea freaked out when she saw me and pretty much kicked me out." "I see... Well I've contacted your father and scheduled a guidance appointment for you, your parents, and your teachers." Rena scoffs. "My father doesn't give a shit what happens to me now. He kicked me out." "I kicked you out because so far it looks like you not only killed your mother, but also that girl, Danielle." Fernando says at the doorway. "Mr. Santiago, thank you for coming", Sonya says, motioning Fernando to have a seat in the chair next to Rena's. "Will someone explain to me why I'm here? As far as I'm concerned, Rena is no longer my son." "Mr. Santiago, please", Brad says. The principal turns to Rena. "Where have you been staying since you moved out of your father and stepmother's home?" "Ali Swift took me in. Unlike the rest of the shitheads in this town, she and her father actually believe I'm not some cold-blooded killer." Fernando stands up. "I'm not about to listen to my ex-son bitch about everyone believing the truth. I'm going home to my wife, A.K.A my new family." Fernando storms out of the office and slams the door behind him.

Emma is at her locker when Joey comes up behind her and slaps her butt. The former turns around and smacks him across the face. "Bitch, I thought I told you to stop with that." Joey grins and says, "What are you gonna do about it, huh? You've been threatening me for weeks." Emma sees Ben and grins. "I'll get my boyfriend on you." Joey laughs. "Oh? And who is that?" Ben sees Emma and Joey talking and hurries over. Emma grins and tells Joey, "It's Ben." After a moment of silence, Joey breaks down to laughter. "Hahaha, oh my God, that fag? Oh this is good." Joey turns to Ben. "Why don't you go find someone in your league. Maybe one of the chess club geeks?" Josh, who is a few lockers away from Emma, asks what's going on. Joey tells him that Emma is dating a sissy. Josh frowns and watches as Joey goes outside to the schoolyard. Josh tells Ben not to listen to Joey, but Emma says, "Fuck that, go kick Joey's ass. We all know you can." Ben looks at Josh and then at Emma, trying to make the right decision. He ends running for the door, going after Joey. Josh and Emma run after him. Outside, Ben looks around and sees Joey talking to a few friends. He runs over, turns Joey to face his direction, and punches him in the face. "Stay away from Emma, you piece of shit!" As Ben starts to walk away, Joey yells, "Hey, Fitzgerald, Emma was trash anyways." An expression of anger comes across Ben's face. Josh and Emma watch, shocked. Ben goes back over to Joey and says, "Time to die!" Ben throws Joey on the ground and starts kicking him the balls. Joey screams in agonizing pain as Ben kicks harder each time. He then starts kicking Joey in the face, knocking out a tooth or two and bruising him badly. Emma wickedly grins at the horrible sight. Josh tells Ben that it's enough, but he doesn't listen. Josh keeps yelling, "Ben, that's enough. He gets it." But Ben carries on. Josh finally pulls Ben off of the beaten and bruised Joey. As Ben is being pulled away, he spits in Joey's face. After Josh gets Ben away far enough, the latter runs over to Emma and they passionately make out. Joey lays on the ground in pain and growling, but everyone couldn't care less about him.

On top of the school's roof, Ali is seen watching everyone go home as she smokes a cigarette. She hears someone coming, and puts her hand holding the cigarette behind her back. She is relieved to see that it is just Rena. "What are you doing up here?" the girl asks. "I was just roaming around the woods outside and saw you up here." Ali nods. "I've been keeping a lot of secrets for you. But if you want my silence about the smoking, you should prolly give me a cigarette", Rena says with a smile. Ali grins and lights him one. As Ali hands it to him, Rena asks, "So did you destroy the necklace yet?" "Yep. I smashed it to pieces and managed to flush it down a toilet in the girls' bathroom." Rena can't help but laugh. The two friends look over at everyone leaving and see Andrew arrive. Rena turns to Ali and says, "We should get going. I see your dad down there." Rena starts walking down the stairwell. Before Ali joins him, she looks into her jacket pocket and is relieved that Danielle's necklace is still there.


	6. "Young Love"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After doing some research, Josh and Val finally have sex. But as they do so, they think about the most memorable events of the time they spent together and the people who took part in them.

At the Gold manor, Josh and Val are sitting on the latter's bed, reading the book "Sex for Dummies". As they flip through pages, Josh says, "Okay, okay, I guess one way we could try is you put your legs over my shoulders and we get in close and shove my penis up your vagina." Val is confused. "Are you sure that's sex?" Josh flips through the book, trying to find the page he saw the picture on. He finally gives up and says "I think so." Val throws the book across the room and buries her head in her pillow. Josh tries to comfort her by saying they don't have to lose their virginity now if she doesn't want to. "But I do want to. Emma was sucking on your cock. That's more than I've ever done with a guy. I can't lose to her, I just can't." Val starts tearing up. Josh wraps his arms around her and kisses her forehead. Val looks back up as she tries to stop the tears and says, "Things were much easier six years ago." Josh smiles, "Oh yeah, the days when we were little kids who didn't even know what dating is." As Val wipes away her tears and smiles, she says, "Remember that night we first saw each other?" "The night of Silvia's murder..."

Flashback-

As Rena is dragged out of his house in handcuffs, the night of his mother's murder, the entire neighborhood watches. This includes Josh Fisher. Josh stands, motionless behind his best friend, Ben and Ben's mother, Gloria. "Very, very disturbed child. I always thought there was something off about him, but I kept my mouth shut because you boys were his friends", Gloria says in a snobby manner. "Does this mean Rena will be locked away forever?" a young Josh asks. "Lord, I hope so. Silvia was one of my dear friends and now I have lost her forever. I can only imagine how Fernando will be able to take this news," Gloria says as she makes her way back inside. Ben and Josh are now alone, watching as the paramedics carry the body bag, with Silvia's corpse, out of the Santiago house. Josh's attention is suddenly stolen by something else -- or should I say, someone else. Young Valentina Gold stands across the street with her mother, Celeste, watching as the car containing Rena drives away. Josh can't help but give a small smile.

_1 week later_

At the Wiksteria Church, the entire town is gathered for Silvia Santiago's funeral. Josh and Ben sit in the front pew next to Fernando, Gloria, and two of Silvia's relatives. Pastor Dean gives a speech about life and death, but young Josh can't pay attention. All he can do is stare at the daughter of the church pianist, Celeste. Valentina stands by her mother's side and looks into the crowd of people attending the funeral, and notices Josh. She smiles at him. Ben sees this and nudges Josh. "Hey look. Christian girl is looking at you." Josh blushes and says that he knows. Ben grins.

Flashback ends.

In the present day, Josh and Val finally figured out how to have sex. As they moan in pleasure, Josh starts screaming, "Oh yeah, oh yeah, oh fuck yeah. I'll shove it in there, Joanna." Val stops, her eyes are now wide open, and an angry expression comes across her face. "Um, what?" Josh realizes what he said and remains silent. Val grabs a hold of her boyfriend's penis and starts yanking it upwards, causing him intense pain as she says again, "Um, what?" As Josh pleads for her to let go, Val notices her plugged-in hair-straightening iron. She grabs it and uses it to grab Josh's cock, practically burning it off. He screams in pain, and Val finally releases. The fully erected dick is burned. Josh turns to Val, jaw dropped. "What the fuck is wrong with you? Crazy bitch!" Val smacks her already in pain boyfriend across the face. "Why the fuck would you bring that cunt up? We agreed three years ago to never mention her again. Not after the shit she put us through." "I'm sorry, it's just that thinking about the past reminded me of her. I, I don't know. I'm sorry." Val and Josh remain in silence.

Flashback-

Thirteen-year-olds Josh and Ben are at the former's locker. "So are you gonna ask out Valentina?" Ben asks. Josh closes his locker. "I don't know, me and Joanna have been getting pretty close and-" "Lemme stop you right there. Don't get too involved with Joanna or any of the other really popular girls like Emma Cassidy or Danielle Clark. They're nothing but trouble." "No, Joanna's different. She's actually really nice." "Well here's your chance. Val's about to come out of class and Joanna, Emma, and Danielle are coming down the hall right now", Ben says, pointing at them. Joanna sees Josh at his locker and hurries over, hugging him. "Hi!" she says with a cheerful smile. Emma and Danielle catch up. "Oh honey, you need to slow down. I don't walk fast in heels", Danielle says in a snobby tone. "Yeah, like bitch please, he ain't that important", Emma adds on. Joanna ignores the rude remarks from her friends and continues hugging Josh. Val, followed by her best friend, Ali, come out of their last class and see Josh. Val hurries over and Joanna, Emma, and Danielle give her a disgusted look. "Um, what is that troll doing here?" Emma asks. "Relax girls, she's my friend", Josh says, defending Val. An unhappy Joanna states, "Yeah, no. Josh, I can't be near that skank. You're gonna have to pick one or the other." "Excuse me?" Josh asks a little confused, but really shocked. "I have to pick?" Joanna and her friends nod. "I can't believe this." Joanna hugs an unhappy Josh and says, "Please honey, I love you, and I know you love me. If you agree to never talk to Val again, we can finally be together." Josh pushes Joanna away. She and her friends are shocked. "Josh, what the fuck?" "I choose Val. I choose her because she wasn't gonna make me choose. I'm sorry, you're a very nice girl and I loved having you as a friend, but I can't throw away Val for you." Joanna remains silent, but turns her head to Val who is now starting to move away in order to prevent anymore awkwardness. Joanna finally snaps. "VALENTINA GOLD, I WILL KILL YOU!!!" The mentally unstable popular girl lunges forward and tackles Val, now smashing her face into the ground. Josh tries to pull her off, but is elbowed in the balls, resulting in a girly-toned shriek. Joanna continues smashing Val's face until two of the school's hired police officers pull the girls apart. As two teachers escort Val to the nurse, the officers drag a kicking and screaming Joanna out the doors while she yells, "I HATE YOU ALL!!! I WILL KILL YOU!!! I WILL STAB YOU ALL IN THE NECKS IN YOUR SLEEP AND WILL PUT BLEACH IN YOUR DRINKS!!! I WILL CUT OFF EVERY MAN'S DICK!!! DO YOU HEAR ME???" Josh, Ben, Ali, Emma, and Danielle watch the mental breakdown of Joanna take place as she is dragged out of the building.

Flashback ends.

In the present day, Josh lies down on his back with an ice pack on his penis and testicles. He keeps trying to resist screaming from the pain. "Baby, I'm sorry," Val says as she kisses her boyfriend on the cheek. Josh's phone vibrates. Val checks to see who the text is from and rolls her eyes in disgust when she sees it's Ben. "It's Emma's boy toy." "Oh, what he want?" "Wondering if you'd like to hang out later. I'll go ahead and text him you're busy." Before Josh is able to stop her, she sends the text and tosses the phone on a night stand. "Didn't you two use to be best friends?" Val asks. "Yeah, it was a while back though. We just grew apart, but we've been talking again so we're on the right track." Josh starts to think about the previous two years when he and Ben started to grow apart.

Flashback-

In the halls of Wiksteria High, Josh is at his locker, talking to Val and her best friend Ali. Josh and Val have recently become an official couple. Ben sees them and hurries over. Val is a little disgusted by the sudden appearance of her new boyfriend's friend and asks why he's there. "Val, it's okay," Josh says, not wanting to upset Ben. She scoffs. "Babe, he's a total freak. Like, no one likes him. He's just a loser." Ben looks down, saddened by the rude remarks. "If you wanna be with me, which we all know you do, then you'll have to let this outcast go." Josh is shocked and Ben remains silent. "Val-", Ali starts, but is cut off by the girl in question. "Make your choice now, Josh. And remember, if you pick the wrong choice, there's no going back." Josh looks at both Val and Ben nervously. He finally turns to Ben and whispers, "I'm sorry..." He walks towards Val, takes her hand, and they walk to class. Ben stands in silence, saddened by all of this. Ali is ready to comfort him, but Val yells for her to hurry up.

Flashback ends.

Josh and Val sit in silence, but the latter breaks this by saying, "I think I need to go for a drive," she says as she gets up to grab her purse and keys. "Where to?" Josh asks. "I need to visit someone I haven't talked to in a while. I'll be back in an hour or two." "Okay..." Josh replies, a little nervously. Val heads downstairs and out to her car. She turns it on and pulls out of the driveway where she starts going down the street. She passes Ben who's checking his mail. She remembers the horrible things she did to him and starts to feel guilty. She drives by the church where she and Josh first made eye contact, the place she realized she loved him. She gives a small smile. After a half hour drive, Val pulls up to a large asylum outside of town. A place that looks almost abandoned and can make a person feel dead inside. Val gets out of her car and enters the building. She approaches a worker whom she seems quite familiar with. "Andy, how is she?" "Val, you come every week and I'll tell you what I always tell you. The bitch won't talk. Not sure she's done so since she came here." "Any visitors?" "None. Her father sends her a Christmas and birthday card, but that's it. Do you wanna see her?" "I didn't know she was allowed visitors. Figured people tried to and were sent away." "No, come with me."

Andy and Val make their way down a cold and what looks like endless hallway. They finally come up to a door labeled "Joanna S." Andy opens a slot on the door, revealing sixteen-year-old Joanna on her bed in complete and utter silence. She doesn't even acknowledge her rival's appearance. Val wickedly grins at the girl locked up. Joanna's facial expression turns from zoned out to anger within the second. Val whispers to the girl, "And he and I are gonna make a baby!" Val slams the slot shut, and the screen goes black.


	7. "Some Closure"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ali helps Rena move his belongings out of the Santiago house, but when he overhears Andrew on the phone with Silvers, he starts asking his new roommate questions. Ben continues turning to a darker side when Emma continues taking advantage of him.

At the Santiago home, Rena and Ali carry boxes with the former's belongings out to their car. Justine watches from the kitchen. Fernando is drinking coffee and reading the newspaper, while Justine makes breakfast for herself and her husband. "Honey, are you sure you want to do this to your own son? Just throw him on the streets, just like that?" Justine asks. Fernando, without looking up, replies, "As far as I'm concerned, that killer is not my son. He's some teenager that killed my wife after living in our home without paying rent for ten years." "But he didn't kill Silvia. Well... there's not any proof stating that he did." "He refuses to deny killing Danielle Clark. He probably did kill her and he probably did kill the love of my life." Justine chooses to ignore the last part of that sentence and continues: "Rena is a good kid. You should give him another chance." Fernando ponders this for a moment and finally says, "Once the police find out the true culprit, Rena can come home. Until then, get back to making my breakfast." Justine frowns and does as her husband orders.

At the Delatour manor, Emma and Liz come inside where Janine is seen waiting for them, arms crossed. The teenaged girls are now nervous. Janine takes a pack of cigarettes out from behind her back and says, "Emma, do you know where I found these?" "Um, I don't know. Where?" Emma responds, lying through her teeth. "I found them in your bathroom cabinet, behind your tampons." Emma's facial expression changes from nervous to pissed off. "One, why the fuck were you looking around in my bathroom? Two, those aren't mine." Janine can't help but grin. "Oh darling, if you ever want to succeed in life, especially with men, you're gonna have to learn how to lie better than that." Janine starts cracking up. Liz finally butts in and says, "They're mine... Sorry Ms. Delatour. I, I hid them here so my parents wouldn't find out I smoke. With this being a big house, I figured no one would find them." Janine stops laughing and hands her niece's friend the cigarettes. "You need to learn how to lie better, as well. But, it shows you're a good friend, taking the blame for something like that, so you're both off the hook. Plus, I can't be bothered with your teenage problems. Carry on." Janine exits the room as if nothing ever happened. Emma grabs her cigarettes out of Liz's hand. "I need to find a better place to hide these." "I thought your aunt didn't care." "No, she does. She's just waiting to look for them later." Emma opens the pack. "And of course she stole a few for herself." "Why don't you hide them at Ben's house?" "With his prick of a mother, she'd find them in no time. For now, I'll just have to keep them in here," Emma says as she empties the cigarettes into her hand and puts them in her bra, crushing the pack and throwing it on the floor. Liz looks at her friend with disgust, but follows her upstairs.

At the Wiksteria Mall, Ben and Josh are at the food court, waiting in line at some Chinese place. "So how long are you suspended?" Josh asks. "A week. Fucking Joey says I 'attacked' him even though he knows he had it coming. I'm gonna kick his ass when I get back." Josh rolls his eyes. "Remind me again why you fought him?" "He was harassing Emma. No one, and I mean no one is gonna mess with her when I'm around." "It seems like a little much, don't you think? You got suspended for her, even though she probably could've taken up for herself." "I don't care. She's my girlfriend. Of course I'm gonna take up for her. Wouldn't you do the same for Val?" "Well, yeah... I guess... It's just that Val would never have me do something like this." "Yeah, well Val isn't Emma." Ben turns away, pissed off, and moves up in the line. Josh follows, but remains silent.

At the Swift's house, Rena and Ali are unpacking the former's boxes in the spare bedroom. "Sorry about your dad," Ali says, trying to break the silence. "It's okay, he's just a douche who'll come to his senses. Until then, thanks for letting me stay." "No problem. Seeing as how I dragged you into a murder coverup, I owe you one. Now let me go up to the attic and get the sheets for the bed." Ali heads out of the bedroom and down the hall. Rena looks around the room. As he's walking, he notices a loose floorboard. He goes over it a few times and finally bends down and opens it up. Underneath the board is a small space filled with wads of one hundred dollar bills. Rena can't believe what he sees. When he hears someone coming, he quickly places the floorboard back into place and stands up. He hears Andrew in the hall on the phone, saying, "Listen to me, you son of a bitch. Get your goddamn ass into town and help us before my daughter ends up in jail." Rena's jaw drops and he moves closer to the door where he listens in on the conversation. Andrew continues by saying, "Joseph, I have the money. Just get here and fix this before my entire family is screwed. Ali killed the girl, now it's your job to explain what's next." Andrew hangs up the phone and kicks the wall in fury. Rena, on the other side of the door, looks down at the loose floor board, and back at the door nervously.

At the Fitzgerald home, Emma and Liz ring the doorbell. Gloria answers and is disgusted to see Emma. "Oh look, my son's little whore has stopped by. Well you should know he went out with Joshua." "Yeah, I know. He wanted me to stop by and pick up something before meeting up with him," Emma says before she and Liz push Gloria out of the way. The two girls head upstairs where they look around and find Ben's phone. Emma grabs it and stuffs it in her bra. As she and Liz get ready to leave, the latter stops her friend and says, "Wait, Emma, you can hide the cigarettes here." "Oh please, Gloria will find them in an instant." "Not if you hide them in the right place," Liz stays as she climbs onto Ben's bed and moves the headboard forward. "Just get me some tape." Liz and Emma grin.

At the Wiksteria Park, Rena is driving Ali through the woods. The latter asks, "So... what are we doing here?" Rena doesn't respond, but instead pulls over to the site where they dumped Danielle's body. He locks the doors and turns to his friend and says, "Who. Is. Silvers?" Ali looks down. Rena asks the question again. "Why do you wanna know? We've been over this. It's best you don't ever find out who he is." "I heard your dad on the phone with him. He yelled at him for not getting the job done. I thought your dad had no idea about any of this." Ali smacks her friend across the face. "You moron, of course he knows. I couldn't possibly get away with this all on my own. He was the family Danielle was blackmailing." "But why? What did he do?" "It's none of your concern." "Well, at this point it kind of is. I'm living with the guy and helping his daughter hide some slut's body." "Well I'm sorry, but I can't tell you anything, and I think you should stop asking questions." "Well I'm probably going to meet him anyway. Andrew is having him come to town." An expression of nervousness and terror comes across Ali's face as she utters the word "No..."

At Wiksteria's BBQ Grill, Ben, Josh, Val, and Emma take a seat in one of the booths. Val and Emma can't stop giving each other a pissed off look and Ben and Josh awkwardly sit in silence. James Duong heads over to the table and hands out menus. "Hi, I'll be your server this evening, will anyone be ordering any appetizers?" James asks, eyes on Emma's boobs the entire time. Emma notices this and nudges Ben, telling him to make the waiter stop. Ben looks up and sees where James' eyes are located. He takes one of the tubes of hot sauce and sprays it in James' face. The waiter freaks out and says, "Whoa, whoa, whoa, what was that for?" "Keep your eyes off my girlfriend's tits!" Ben says before punching James in the face. He grabs a hold of the waiter, pushes him to the ground and starts kicking him in the testicles repeatedly. As James screams in pain, Emma hands Ben the tube of hot sauce that the later pours all over the waiter. Josh and Val watch in shock as Emma wickedly grins.  
Not too long later, James is seen being carried away on a gurney whereas the police are talking to Ben. Towards the side of the restaurant, Emma is on the phone with Liz, bragging about how sweet her boyfriend was to defend her. "Well honey, Ben is a keeper. I suggest you don't let him go", Liz says on the other line. "I think I may be in love with him. He's just so sweet. But anyways, the damn pigs are getting all up in his case so I'll call you later." Emma hangs up and as she is ready to head back over to Ben, Josh stands in her way. She gives her former crush a disgusted look and says, "What the fuck do you want? Are you here to choke me again?" Emma asks. "I think you should break up with Ben", Josh says. A pissed off Emma asks, "And why the fuck would I wanna do that? He's perfect. Sure as hell better than you." "But do you not see what you're doing to him? He already got suspended for beating up a guy for you and now he may spend the night in jail. You are causing so many problems for him." "Josh, I think you should stay out of it. You had your chance with me, but you decided to choke me instead. Let me be happy and let him be happy. I don't make him protect me, he chooses to protect me. Now if you would excuse me, I'd like to stand by his side while the cops give him a bunch of shit." Emma pushes Josh out of the way and heads back over to her boyfriend. She glares back at her former crush with a look that tells him to keep his distance from now on.

At the Swift house, Ali and Rena are upstairs in the former's bedroom. Ali paces around nervously, biting her nails. "Fuck, fuck, fuck. Why the hell is that monster coming?" Ali says as she picks up a random book on her desk and throws it at the wall. Rena stops Ali from moving and wraps his arms around her. "It's gonna be alright. Whatever kind of monster Silvers is, I'll protect you." Ali elbows Rena in the gut, causing him to release her. She turns to him and says, "You don't understand. Silvers knows shit. Important shit. And if you or I get on his bad side, we're screwed. He gets pissed off very easily and I can't afford to end up in prison." Outside, Rena and Ali hear a car pull into the driveway. They both nervously look at each other and hurry downstairs where they meet up with Andrew. "Okay you two, just smile and keep your mouths shut. I'll do the talking." Rena and Ali nod in agreement. Andrew opens the door where a man in his early forties by the name of Joseph Silvers enters. After a moment of silence, the man yells, "Well don't just stare, greet me, you miserable fucks." Andrew, Rena, and Ali remain silent.


	8. "Get It Through Your Head"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Following the arrival of Joseph Silvers, Ali and Rena are given orders for what to do next. However, this puts Ali in a complicated situation when she's asked to do something that may ruin her friendship with Rena forever. Meanwhile, Josh, Val, and Gloria try to get it through Ben's head that Emma is no good for him. Also, Val makes a shocking discovery that will change her life forever.

At the Swift home, Rena and Ali sit on the couch in silence as Andrew brings Joseph Silvers a bottle of beer. Joseph pops the tab off and starts chugging down quickly. Andrew looks a little annoyed and finally yells, "Enough! Just tell me how you're gonna protect my daughter!" A shocked and pissed Silvers turns to Andrew, looks at him in silence for a moment, and spits in his face. "Listen to me, Swift. Don't tell me what to do! I've been keeping you and your daughter alive long enough to the point where you should trust me. Now I wanna speak to the girl alone. You and the Mexican guy get out." Rena butts in and says "I'm actually Portuguese." But Silvers doesn't listen, he just motions for him and Andrew to leave. Once seeing that he and Ali are alone, he asks her, "So how long are you gonna keep this one around? Remember, the last guy had to end up in a wood chipper." Ali tries to hold in her oncoming tears and tells the hitman that Rena is different, and that even though he's been the one they've been afraid would come, he's actually doing a good job helping. "So basically what you're saying is we kill him later?" Silvers asks. Ali isn't amused. "Just give me instructions on what to do next and get the hell out of my house." Joseph grins. "Well after that boring speech you gave about loving the Mexican, you may not want to do this task." "What is it?" Ali asks. Silvers' grin continues to grow. "You have to plant Danielle's necklace in his father's desk drawer." Ali gives off her own wicked smile. "So you're telling me an innocent douchebag goes to prison? I think I can work with that." Silvers grins and chugs down the rest of his beer.

Gloria Fitzgerald enters her son's bedroom with a laundry basket and starts gathering up the random clothing on the floor. She makes her way over to his bed where a T-shirt is sticking out from behind the headboard. She goes to grab it, and when she pulls the board back she notices the many cigarettes taped to the back of the headboard. The woman gasps.  
The next scene shows Josh and Val sitting on Ben's bed as Gloria paces back and fourth. "I didn't know who else to call. You two seem to be good friends of his and I sure as hell wasn't about to call that skank of a girlfriend he has," Mrs. Fitzgerald says, nearly in tears. Josh holds the cigarettes out as he and Val examine them. Suddenly, Val starts to feel a little sick. She asked Gloria where the nearest bathroom is and the woman points to one down the hall. Val hurries up and runs. "Mrs. Fitzgerald", Josh starts, "I honestly don't think he's responsible for these." "Then who is?" Gloria asks."Well has anyone other than you, me, and Val been in here lately?" Gloria thinks for a moment and an expression of anger comes across her face as she states, "Emma!"  
Ben arrives home, not too long later, and finds Gloria and Josh standing in front of him. "What's this about?" Ben asks. Gloria takes her hand from behind her back and reveals the cigarettes she found behind his bed. Ben's jaw drops and he swears that they aren't his. Gloria nods and tells him she knows. Josh butts in and says that they're definitely Emma's. Ben is confused to why they'd be there. "Well maybe the little whore couldn't hide them in her house so she thought this would be a better place?" Gloria asks, "Did you know at all about this?" "No", Ben states, "If I knew, I wouldn't have let her." Val hurries back into the room and wipes a little bit of throw-up from the corner of her mouth. Gloria is disgusted, "Valentina dear, may I suggest a pregnancy test? I know everyone here is thinking it." Val and Josh are embarrassed and both give each other a nervous look. Ben and Gloria fail to notice, and carry on their discussion. "Emma has got to go," Gloria says, "She is just a little slut that is clearly using you and you clearly are more dumb than a stack of hammers." Ben is flabbergasted. "Mother! What the h-e-l-l?" Val tries not to laugh, and Josh elbows her in the side. Gloria rolls her eyes and says, "Benjamin, either you leave Emma, or I'm cutting you off. That entire inheritance your father left you will all go to me. So make your choice: the gold-digging slut or your dear mother who decides whether or not you get that inheritance your ''rich'' father left you. 24 hours, Benjamin, 24 hours!" Gloria storms out of the room, leaving Ben alone with Josh and Val. Ben kicks the wall. "Fuck!" Val puts her arm around Ben and says, "If it helps, I never liked you, nor did I like Emma. But I think you could do better than her, so yeah, ditch the bitch." The Christian girl leaves and Josh starts to follow, but Ben stops him and says, "Yeah, ditch the bitch." Josh ignores this rude remark and follows his girlfriend out of the house.

At the Delatour mansion, Emma and Liz are lounging by the pool as two Hispanics massage their necks and two other Hispanics put sunscreen on their backs. Liz quickly turns to lay on her back as she pulls the man that was applying her sunscreen onto where she shoves her tongue down his throat. Liz grins, "Wow Alejandro, you've gotten good. Same time tomorrow?" The teenaged slut sits up, but Alejandro gasps, "Señorita Vitale, isn't that what you say, uh, incest? I don't want to get deported." Liz brushes this off, "Honey, it's not incest, it just legally makes you a sex offender." Alejandro starts pacing around nervously, but Liz grabs him and pulls him in tight and says, "But just as long as you don't piss me off, I'll make sure those damn pigs never find out a thing. Now go inside and bring me the bottle of vodka, or I send some feds over to your huge Mexican family and get them all shot in the head." Alejandro, believing every word of this obvious lie, hurries inside to do as told. The three other men take a break, leaving just Liz and Emma. "So what now, since you got a boyfriend, you're not gonna blackmail Mexicans for sex anymore?" the former asks. Emma sits up and removes her sunglasses, "Well duh, as I've told you before, I think I'm in love with this guy. I don't wanna mess it all up." "Well you will if you keep getting him into fights. His mother and best friend hate you, I'd be careful." "I don't think I can lose him right now. I don't know what I'd do. I'd-" Emma's phone vibrates. It's a text from Ben saying "Can I come over later? Need to ask you something." A huge smiles comes across Liz's face, "Maybe he's gonna ask you for a threesome!!!" Emma and Liz both let out a girly scream of excitement.

Parked in an alley behind a local K-Mart, Val is seen standing behind her car as she holds a pregnancy test, waiting for the results. She starts to think, "If I had to pee on a stick behind some store just to hide the fact that I may be pregnant, what the fuck happens if I end up popping some little brat out of my vagina?" She thinks of a friend she could go to in a time of need like this, and then she remembers: Ali. Val takes out her phone to call her BFF, but notices the pregnancy test. It's positive. She falls to her knees and is ready to scream, but nothing comes out. She can barely breathe. Finally, the Christian bitch shrieks "NOOOO!!! NO! NO! NO! THIS CAN'T JUST AHHH!!! NO!!!" Val collapses, head buried in her arms. After a while of this, she manages to grab her phone and calls Ali. As she holds in the remaining tears, Val says, "Ali, I know we haven't talked since the night of Danielle's murder, but I really need you right now. Can I come over?" On the other line, Ali is seen in her car, driving to the Santiago home. "Sure, I guess. I'll be a little while though, I have to make a stop somewhere. Can you wait?" "Sure, yeah, I'll just sit on the front porch." "No, you can go in and wait upstairs. Do you still have my spare key?" Val, who's now looking for objects to kill herself with on the ground, says, "Yeah. See you later." The girls hang up, and Val resumes her crying.

Ali's car pulls up to the Santiago home. She steps out and heads for the front door and rings the doorbell. Justine answers with her perky happiness. "Alison, what brings you here? Come in, come in." Justine opens her door wide so her stepson's friend can come in. "Um, Rena forgot something in his room and sent me to pick it up so he could avoid any encounters with your husband," Ali lies. Justine, with her happy grin, says, "Fernie is a real softy. Rena doesn't have to be afraid, but then again, their last encounter wasn't the friendliest." Ali tries to go upstairs, but Justine drags her over to the couch for small talk. The mid-forties woman offers a tray of snacks and asks, "Cookie? Oh, and I have hot tea boiling, be right back." Ali takes one of the cookies and cheerfully smiles at Justine who hurries into the kitchen. Once she's gone, Ali's smile disappears and she throws the cookie into the turned-off fire place.

Val arrives at the Swift home and knocks on the door. Once realizing no one is home, she uses her spare key to unlock the door and gets inside. Once in, she goes upstairs to Ali's room, but stops when she notices the room that belongs to Silvers. A dozen different knives, guns, and miscellaneous weapons are aligned on the bed. Val tries not to scream. She hurries out of the room, but hears Andrew and Silvers coming into the house and heading upstairs. The religious, pregnant, Christian bitch panics and hurries back into Silvers room where she hides under the bed. Andrews and Joseph make their way into the same room as they carry on their conversation. An angry Silvers grabs one of his knives and throws it at his mirror, causing the glass to shatter everywhere. "God damn it, Andrew, will you let me do my work? I know exactly what we're doing. I have the body hidden and no one will find it." An intrigued Val takes out her phone to start recording the conversation. "Ali is planting Danielle Clark's necklace in the Santiago home right now to frame Fernando, then later on, I'll find some way to get one of the dead girl's arms or legs into the house. We're taking baby steps, just be patient." From under the bed, Val is in true terror, and is about to breakdown.

Back at the Santiago home, Ali and Justine are sitting opposite each other in two chairs as they drink from small cups of tea. As Justine slurps hers down, Ali awkwardly sits still as she has finished hers and is waiting to go upstairs to plant the necklace. "So Mrs. Santiago," Ali starts, "I'm kind of in a hurry. My father is having company over and I'm meeting up with a friend, so if you wouldn't mind-" Justine breaks down into tears. Ali is confused. "Mrs. Santiago, are you-" "I think Fernando is having an affair," Justine cries, "He has been coming home late at night for the past week, he's being kind of distant, always on the phone with work, and his credit card bill says he payed for a room at that fancy hotel in downtown Wiksteria." "Well that doesn't really mean anything," Ali says, not sure herself. Between cries, Justine says, "But he cheated on his first wife, Silvia. You know, before she was murdered? I would know, I was the mistress." Ali is a bit taken back. "''You'' were having an affair with Fernando?" Justine, not understanding why Ali is shocked, says, "Well, yes. He and I had been sleeping together for about a year when his first wife died." Ali stands up and heads for the door, "Mrs. Santiago, I'm sorry, but I have to go." The girl runs out the door, forgetting all about what she was there to do in the first place. "Well, goodbye?" Justine says, confused.

At the Delatour mansion, Ben walks up the front steps and knocks on the door. Janine answers with a greeting of, "Emma's upstairs, remember, use protection! If you knock her up, I will cut your balls off and smash them with a hammer." Ben nods, and hurries up the staircase. In Emma's bedroom, Emma is lying on her bed, texting a friend, while Liz beats Alejandro with a stick for being a "bad boy". Ben is disgusted by this and makes his way over to Emma. She looks up from her phone and kisses her boyfriend. She turns to Liz and says, "Hun, let the poor Mexican go and go downstairs to help Janine restock the liquor." Alejandro runs out the door and out of the house. Liz rolls her eyes, "Damn Mexicans know how to escape anything." At this, she leaves Ben and Emma alone. The latter starts to unbutton her boyfriend's shirt, but he stops her. Emma's confused. "Baby, what's wrong?" she asks. "We need to talk," Ben starts, "I don't really think we should see each other anymore." Emma, starting to form tears, asks, "Why?"  
Downstairs, Liz and Janine finish restocking the liquor cabinet when they hear glass shatter. The two gals hurry into the family room where they see Ben running downstairs as Emma chases after him, throwing random objects. "YOU BETTER RUN, YOU SON OF A BITCH!!!" Emma screams before throwing a curling iron at her now ex-boyfriend. Ben manages to dodge it. He turns to Janine and Liz and says, "She's fucking crazy!" Ben runs out the front door and to his car, quickly speeding off. Emma breaks down into tears. She collapses to the ground, similar to Val. Janine and Liz bend down to comfort their niece/friend.

Ali arrives back at her house and heads upstairs, she finds Val sitting on her bed in complete silence, not even looking up to see her friend's presence. "Val?" Ali asks, "Are you okay?" The pregnant teen turns to her friend. "You did it. You. You killed Danielle Clark." Ali is shocked. Rena comes into the room. "What's going on?" he asks. "Val, you're crazy. I could never kill anyone," Ali says, ignoring Rena's question. He sees what's going on and takes a step back. "Who was that man?" Val asks, "With the weapons on his bed? Is he your hitman?" Ali remains silent. "IS HE?" Val asks again. "NO!!!" Ali screams, "HE'S NOT!!! AND I NEVER KILLED DANIELLE!!!" Val bitch slaps her friend. Rena's jaw drops. Ali grabs her cheek, in pain. "Oh Alison, do you not know who I am?" Val starts, "I've been your friend for years, I know when you lie to me, and you clearly are right now. I'm not gonna tell anyone about this. I never liked Danielle. You probably had your reasons for making that bitch die, and I'm not going to judge you for it. All I ask is that you be honest with me. Now I'm going to ask you, did you kill Danielle?" Rena motions for Ali not to say anything, but she doesn't listen and says, "Yes..." Val smiles and says, "Thanks for the honesty." She grabs her purse and starts to leave, but stops to say, "Oh by the way, I'm pregnant. Let me know if you ever find the name of a good abortion doctor." Val exits the room, leaving Ali and Rena shocked.

At the Delatour mansion, Emma sits alone in her dark room, finishing up a bottle of scotch. She looks around her room to make sure everything is set up properly. On a little round table she has framed pictures of her and Janine, her and Ben, her with Liz and Isabelle, and her with Danielle and Joanna. Next to it, she places a note that says on the outside "To Ben..." She goes to her closet where she grabs a gun off the back shelf. As tears roll down her eyes, she holds the gun up to her mouth. The camera zooms to the outside of her house and the sound of a gun being fired is heard, as well as a scream from Janine.


	9. "How a Bitch Is Formed"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We find out Emma's fate as to what happened when the gun was fired. Flashbacks show us how Emma grew up and was formed into the bitch she is today. Rena and Ali go to Silvers about Val's recent discoveries, but his plan may be more than what everyone is up for.

> _ "Hi, you bitches all know who I am. The hottest, sexiest slut in town. Tonight I held a gun to my mouth, but all you people know is that someone pulled the trigger and Auntie Janine screamed. Tehe, I don't think I wanna tell you if I'm alive or dead, yet." _

Inside the Delatour mansion, the gun was just fired. Janine screams when she comes into her niece's bedroom. She sees Emma shaking as she holds her aunt at gunpoint.

> _ "Oh look, I'm alive!" _

"YOU TRIED TO KILL ME!!!" Janine screams. Emma breaks down into tears and yells, "I WASN'T TRYING TO KILL YOU!!! YOU WERE IN THE WRONG PLACE AT THE WRONG TIME!!! I WAS STARTLED!!!" Janine is confused for a moment as to why Emma would have a gun, but then she realizes what's going on. "No..." Janine says as she starts to cry, "Not my baby..." Janine hugs Emma tightly as the two cry together.

> _ "Yeah, yeah, yeah, all the tears and shit. If the damn bitch just let me shoot myself in the throat, we could've avoided all this. Anyways, you all probably wonder how I came to be like this. Well, it's a long story. You see, my biological parents are shit." _

Flashback-

A nine-year-old Emma is seen hiding underneath her mobile home as a couple, a man and woman named Adam and Bree are looking for her. "Get your shitty ass back here, you fuckwad!" Adam yells. Emma quietly cries to herself. Bree looks around and notices her daughter underneath the mobile home. She elbows Adam and he sees her too. "Maybe we should just torch the place," Bree suggests, hoping to get Emma to come out. "Good idea," Adam says as he gets his lighter ready. Emma, thinking he's actually going to do it, hurries out from underneath and starts running. As she almost escapes the property, a huge, vicious Doberman dog jumps out and growls as he starts cornering Emma. Bree and and Adam manage to get over there in time. Adam punches his daughter in the face for running off, and Bree grabs the girl by her hair and starts dragging her back to the house on wheels.

> _ "That's just half the shit I had to deal with, but anyways, back to present day." _

Janine is taking away all sharp objects she can find in Emma's room. "I called Liz," the woman says, "She'll be here soon." Emma doesn't respond, clearly giving her aunt the silent treatment. As Janine throws every pen, pencil, shoe lace, and other object that may be used for suicide in the trash, she says, "You're gonna have to talk eventually. Just tell me why you did it." Emma looks her aunt right in the eye and says, "Because of everything. My life. It's just... Awful. My parents were abusive, my best friend was locked in a mental hospital, my other best friend was murdered, you never seem to care about me until now, and the man I love threw me away like I was nothing. I always seemed happy and shit lately, but I'm not. I can never catch a break. I'm just... done..." Janine hugs her niece, "You have a lot to live for. Don't give up now."

> _ "Bitch don't understand, though. She doesn't know the whole story." _

Flashback-

Eleven-year-old Emma lies on the ground outside her parent's mobile home. Her legs are chained to a long metal pole so she can't run away. It's a cold winter night and she's shivering. Suddenly, she hears someone coming. She quietly starts to cry. The person comes closer and closer, she knows exactly who it is -- Bree. "Let's go, you miserable fuck! Time to visit Mr. Le Chung."

At the Storywik strip club, Bree drags her daughter inside. They go to a back room where there's a fat sumo Asian person. "Is this the bitch?" Chung asks in his low tone of voice. Bree nods and says, "She's yours till the morning. Bring her home not badly injured." Bree leaves Emma and Chung alone. Emma gulps in terror at the large man. "Till morning, you my bitch," Chung says before taking out a knife. "We play truth or dare. Now I dare you to find a way to shove this inside of you."<br />

From the outside of the room, Bree stands with a grin on her face as she counts the wad of cash she got for prostituting her daughter. Her grin gets even bigger when she hears her daughter scream in pain from the knife.

> _ "And this is still not the whole story. There's more, but might as well check up on current day me." _

Janine and Emma are sitting in the den, waiting for Liz in silence. She finally arrives and runs in crying, quickly hugging her friend. "Emma," she says between cries, "What the fuck? I, I, you can't! No!" The two friends hug even tighter. Emma starts to think about her night with Chung and how it changed her life forever.

Flashback-

A young Emma's now tied to some ratty-looking hotel room bed. As she lays there, naked, beaten, and bruised, she quietly cries. Chung heads into the room, bringing with him a letter opener. Emma screams in fear as the man makes his way over to her. He runs his hand up her body as she trembles in fear. He places the letter opener far into her mouth to the point where any sudden movement could kill her. He tells her that he's gonna go and get a bucket of ice from the cooler outside for later. He leaves the room, leaving a terrified Emma stuck, tied to a bed and having to hold a letter opener still with her teeth. She looks around for ways to escape. She notices that one of the ropes that has her arms tied up is loose. She manages to wiggle her hand and get out. She gets the letter opener out of her mouth and cuts herself free. She now looks around for a way to escape.  
Chung returns five minutes later and notices Emma is gone. "Arggggh, I kill bitch now!" Suddenly, he's knocked over the head with a frying pan that comes with the cruddy-looking oven in the room. Chung, now on the ground, looks up and sees young Emma, looking more furious, pissed, enraged, and crazy than anyone he's ever met. "Aayy, you're my bitch till morning!" Chung says in his Asian accent, "Now back on rape cushion!" he says, pointing to the bed. Emma pulls a gun out from behind her back and grins. Chung is stunned, "Where you get that?" "You had it laying on the bathroom counter, dumbass," Emma says with a smirk. Chung tells her to give it to him and her jaw drops. "Seriously? Seriously? SERIOUSLY??? YOU JUST FUCKING RAPED ME AND NOW IM HOLDING A GUN TO YOUR HEAD!!! YOU DON'T TELL ME TO DO ANYTHING, YOU OBEY ME!!!" Chung scoffs, "Me no listen to bitch, now let's fuck," he says as he pulls down his pants. Emma sees the letter opener on the bed. She looks over at Chung's penis and testicles and grins. She grabs the letter opener and quickly stabs it into one of Chung's testicles. "AAHHHH WHAT THE FUCKING FUCK YOU STUPID BITCH!!!!" he screams. Emma starts laughing hysterically, "BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!! Now don't ever call me your 'bitch' again!" Chung yanks the letter opener out of his testicle, now gushing blood. He screams in even more agonizing pain and Emma lets out a psychotic cackle. She then kicks him repeatedly in his bloody ball. He's too weak to fight back. She then remembers she has a gun in her hand. She grins and shoots his dick right off. Chung screams louder and louder as the pain worsens. Emma watches as he bleeds to death.  
The next morning, Bree comes to the hotel to pick up her daughter. "Let's go, you miserable fuck," she says as she enters the room. She screams in horror at the body of Le Chung laying on the ground, and Emma is just fast asleep. "WHAT THE FUCKING FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU???" Bree yells as she yanks her daughter's hair until she wakes up. Emma smiles as she pulls the gun out from under her pillow and holds it up to her mother's head and says, "Listen bitch, I'm not fucking around anymore so I want you to listen!" Bree reluctantly backs away from her crazed daughter and sits down. "Now mother, I have a few requests, and if you don't make them happen, I will blow your head off." Bree gulps. "First of all, you're gonna help me burn this body. Then you're gonna take me home so I can pack. You're gonna keep dad away from me. You're gonna contact that rich aunt Janine you're always talking about and you are gonna tell her everything you've done to me. She's gonna take me into custody and give me a good life, while you and dad go back to that gutter of a trailer you belong in. You will never tell anyone about this. Also, I think I'm gonna crack any day now, so I want you to find one of your drug dealers to get me some kinda of medication that will tame me. Do you understand?" Bree, more pissed with her daughter than she ever has been, says, "Just get me a damn lighter!" Emma grins.

Back in the present day, the following morning, at the Swift house, Rena, Ali, Silvers, and Andrew are sitting at the table while Rena and Ali go on about Val knowing what's going on. "So after she heard you and dad talking," Ali says to Silvers, "She confronted me. She says she's not gonna tell anyone, but I don't like this." Silvers stands up and punches the table. "GOD DAMN IT! Okay, this bitch has got to go. Ali, you're gonna have to kill her." Ali smacks the hitman. "No! Are you fucking kidding me? I already killed Danielle Clark AND her fucking mother, not to mention some other people. We paid you to do this dirty work, now you do something." "No, you paid me to get rid of the bodies and help plan out all of this. I don't lift a finger when it comes to stabbing someone in the gut or shooting them in the head." As Ali and Silvers argue, Rena and Andrew sit back and watch. The latter turns to Rena and asks when he's gonna ask Ali out. Rena's shocked and asks, "What? I, um, hadn't planned on it." "Oh, my bad," Andrew says, "It just looked like you and my daughter had something going on. Hell, you're helping her hide a dead body." Rena, confused, asks, "Wow, um, aren't dads suppose to be overprotective?" Andrew puts his hand on Rena's shoulder and says, "Son, you won my approval the night I found out you helped my daughter bury that blackmailing skank." Rena can't help but chuckle and Ali turns to him and says, "Rena, let's go, we're gonna shoot Val in the head." Rena groans as he gets up and follows Ali out the door.

Liz, having spent the night at the Delatour mansion, sits on the couch with a cup of coffee, still halfway asleep when Emma comes downstairs, all dressed up with a smile on her face. "Lizzie, I'm going to the store, I'll be back in ten minutes." She hurries out the door, still with a cheerful smile on her face. A suspicious Liz puts her coffee down and looks for her own car keys.  
As Emma drives down the road, she glances at the revolver sitting in the passenger seat and grins. Liz drives the car behind her, keeping enough distance so her friend won't notice. Emma pulls into Ben's neighborhood and parks across the street from his house. Liz sees this and gets nervous. She pulls over at the end of the street and starts walking down the sidewalk to Emma's car. Meanwhile, Emma loads her gun as she watches through the kitchen window at the Fitzgerald home where Ben and Gloria are seen eating breakfast. Emma quietly cries as she rolls down her car window and holds out the gun, ready to shoot. Liz sees the gun and starts to run to Emma's car. As the crazed woman pulls the trigger, Liz jumps into the passenger seat of the car and grabs Emma's hand with the gun, causing her to shoot Ben's window, but miss actually shooting him. From inside the Fitzgerald kitchen, Ben and Gloria scream in terror. Emma slams on the gas pedal, getting as far away from the Fitzgerald home as she can. Once moving onto the next street, Emma finally pulls over so Liz can actually pull her door shut and actually sit in the seat. Emma breaks down into tears, "LIZ, WHAT THE HELL? I TOLD YOU I WAS GOING TO THE STORE! What, you don't trust me enough?" Liz stares at her crazed friend for a few seconds before smacking her across the face. "You fucking idiot, of course I don't trust you! You tried shooting yourself in the mouth last night and now you're trying to shoot your ex in the head. God fucking damn it you need help," Liz says as she punches the car dashboard. Emma cries, "If you would just let me die then this would all be over." Liz hugs her friend and says, "But what about the people who love you? Killing yourself just makes other people suffer too." Emma starts to think about this, she then thinks of the time she first moved to Wiksteria.

In a flashback, Emma, Bree, and Adam pull up in an old pickup truck at Janine's house. The two Cassidy parents angrily toss Emma's two suitcases onto the front yard, and Adam pushes his daughter out the door. Before driving off, he says to her, "Don't ever contact us again, you ugly bitch." Emma holds in the tears as her parents drive off. Janine hurries outside greeting her niece, "Hello, Ella!" "It's Emma," the young girl says. "Emily, right, got it!" Janine picks up Emma's luggage and they go inside. One of Janine's Mexican servants carry the suitcases upstairs. Emma stands quietly, head down, trying to cover her bruised face. Janine kneels down and gently lifts Emma's chin upward. "What a beautiful face. Once those bruises heal, I'm gonna make you into the sexiest girl in school. I'll also make sure my sister and your father never touch you again. It'll be okay." Emma nods, still remaining shy and quiet.  
A couple months later, Emma is seen walking through Janine's house. Her bruises have gone away and she's been given a complete makeover into the person she looks like today. She goes into the bathroom where she takes out a bottle of pills and swallows three of them. She nearly chokes on them, but remembers that she has to take them or she'll go insane. Emma makes her way to the kitchen where she sees Janine talking with Helena Clark and Justine Santiago (Justine de Franćis at the time). With them is a young Danielle. "So Fernando and I are meeting up tonight," Justine says to her friends. "You little slut," Helena says, "Silvia is our friend and you're screwing her husband." But she can't help but grin. "Silvia never was the nicest person," Helena adds on, "Maybe she does deserve this." "Just as long as it doesn't kill her," Janine says. The three friends laugh.

> _ "LMAO, the irony." _

Janine notices Emma in the kitchen doorway and motions her to come in. She introduces Emma to Helena and Justine. They tell her hello and that it's nice to meet her. Helena motions Danielle, who's sitting quietly, paying on her iPod, to get up and meet Emma. Danielle, already having grown into her self-absorbed attitude, tells Emma that the girl is lucky to have met her as she and her best friend Joanna are the most popular girls in school. Janine tells the girls to go upstairs and hang out. They do as told. Once upstairs they introduce themselves.  
A few years later, Emma, Danielle, and Joanna are in the middle school halls, of course, being admired by everyone that walks by. Emma notices Ben and Josh watching them. "Ugh, Joanna, Josh and his bitch keep looking at us." Joanna smiles with glee when she sees Josh, and corrects Emma by telling her that "Josh's bitch" is named Ben. Emma rolls her eyes and says, "Gross, he just follows Josh around like a lost puppy. It's so sad." She and Danielle laugh at this remark, but Joanna is unamused. She runs over to Josh and hugs him. "Hi!" she says with a cheerful smile. Emma and Danielle catch up. "Oh honey, you need to slow down. I don't walk fast in heals", Danielle says in a snobby tone. "Yeah, like bitch please, he ain't that important", Emma adds on. Joanna ignores the rude remarks from her friends and continues hugging Josh. Val comes out of her last class and sees Josh. She hurries over and Joanna, Emma, and Danielle give her a disgusted look. "Um, what is that troll doing here?" Emma asks. "Relax girls, she's my friend", Josh says, defending Val. An unhappy Joanna states, "Yeah, no. Josh, I can't be near that skank. You're gonna have to pick one or the other." "Excuse me?" Josh asks a little confused, but really shocked. "I have to pick?" Joanna and her friend's nod. "I can't believe this." Joanna hugs an unhappy Josh and says, "Please honey, I love you, and I know you love me. If you agree to never talk to Val again, we can finally be together." Josh pushes Joanna away. She and her friends are shocked. "Josh, what the fuck?" "I choose Val. I choose her because she wasn't gonna make me choose. I'm sorry, you're a very nice girl and I loved having you as a friend, but I can't throw away Val for you." Joanna remains silent, but turns her head to Val who is now starting to move away in order to prevent anymore awkwardness. Joanna finally snaps. "VALENTINA GOLD, I WILL KILL YOU!!!" The mentally unstable popular girl lunges forward and tackles Val, now smashing her face into the ground. Josh tries to pull her off, but is elbowed in the balls, resulting in a girly-toned shriek. Joanna continues smashing Val's face until two of the school's hired police officers pull the girls apart. As two teachers escort Val to the nurse, the officers drag a kicking and screaming Joanna out the doors while she yells, "I HATE YOU ALL!!! I WILL KILL YOU!!! I WILL STAB YOU ALL IN THE NECKS IN YOUR SLEEP AND WILL PUT BLEACH IN YOUR DRINKS!!! I WILL CUT OFF EVERY MAN'S DICK!!! DO YOU HEAR ME???" Josh, Ben, Emma, and Danielle watch the mental breakdown of Joanna take place as she is dragged out of the building. ("Young Love")  
Another few years pass, and now Danielle and Emma are the high school queens. Just like before, everyone worships them. As they watch the people around them, they notice Liz and Isabelle, two girls they hadn't known at the time. As Liz strolls threw the halls, Isabelle follows her, carrying all of her books and bags. She struggles to catch up with her so-called friend. Liz turns around to see how far back Isabelle is, and when she sees that she's halfway down the hall, she yells, "God you're so damn useless. It is so hard to find good help these days." Liz storms over to the poor girl and knocks everything out of her hands. "Now get down on your hands and knees and pick it all up! You belong on the ground anyways." Isabelle starts to cry and Emma and Danielle watch from afar with a grin on their faces. They make their way over to Liz and introduce theirselves. Emma starts, "Hi, I'm Emma and this is Danielle." Danielle takes over the talking, "Basically we think you're the perfect bitch to join our little group, but you're gonna have to start from the ground up." "Sorry, but I'm no one's bitch," Liz says. She starts to walk away, but Danielle and Emma both grab one of her arms. "Look," Danielle starts, "We are prepared to give you the social life many people dream of having, so suck it up and carry a few text books for a couple of months." Danielle and Emma both throw their purses in Liz's arms and walk off. Their new slave follows them, rolling her eyes the whole time.  
The day Helena discovered Danielle's body and contacted the police, Emma sits at home. In her room. In the dark. As she quietly cries, she takes a few of her pills. Liz knocks on the door before entering. She tells Emma that she just got the phone call about Danielle. She asks if Emma's alright. The troubled girl doesn't respond for a moment, but finally says, "...First it was Joanna... now it's Danielle... I can't seem to catch a break." Liz hugs Emma, hoping to comfort the girl. "Joanna and Danielle were my best friends and I lost them both. And it was just so sudden. First Jo had a nervous breakdown and then Danielle was just murdered. I'm losing everyone. I, I've never had a time in my life when everything was perfect. For God's sake, after what my parents did to me, I suffer from depression, anorexia, and plain mental instability. I, I don't know how much longer I can go on." Emma breaks down into tears in Liz's arms. The latter comforts her friend and says, "Well you still have me. I'll be here for you whenever you need me." Emma can't believe this. "Why? I, I haven't ever been the nicest person to you." "I know, but I also know that deep down you mean well." Emma wipes away the last few of her tears and thanks Liz for being there for her.

Back in the present day, Emma is crying in Liz's arms. However, she suddenly comes to a stop and looks up at her friend and says, "I need to do something... something awful, but the only thing that will give me justice." "What are you talking about?" Liz asks, confused. Emma ignores her and motions her friend to leave. "What? Emma? What the fuck?" "I need to be alone now. And I promise I'll be okay. Just go." "But-" "GO!" Liz gets out of the car and Emma slams on the gas pedal, speeding down the road in a hurry.

At Val's house, Rena and Ali pull up, Ali carries with her a small handgun. As she prepares to get out of the car, Rena stops her. "Are you sure you really wanna do this? There are other ways." "I know, but this is the only way I can be sure nothing will happen. I love Val, she has always been a friend of mine, but the bitch does not know how to keep quiet." "Just remember that she was your friend, though. She was there for you. For god sakes, she's pregnant. For all we know, Josh might actually love her enough to one day marry her. If you kill her now, it could ruin a lot of people's lives. Are you sure you're up for that?" Ali, now trying not to tear up says to her friend, "No... no I can't." She breaks down crying in Rena's arms.

> _ "God, enough of the water works." _

At the asylum where Joanna is being kept, Emma sits in her car outside, writing in a notebook. She finally comes to a stopping point and tears out about 6 pieces of paper. She folds them up and puts them in her purse. She steps out of her car and heads inside. Andy, the man Val had met up with not too long before, is looking through some files when Emma approaches him. "Excuse me, but I need to check out a patient by the name of Joanna." Andy looks up from the papers, "I'm sorry, but that patient can't be released without a police warrant or some sort of notice from a judge." Emma stomps her foot, "For god sakes, I need to see her and I need her out of this damn coocoo hut. Now take me to her!" "Fine, we allow visitors, but first would you mind telling me who you are?" "An old friend, now start walking."  
Andy takes Emma down the hall to Joanna's room. "Ms. Cassidy, before you enter, you need to be aware that she is a little unstable, so if she jumps at you, press the security button on the far left wall." Emma nods as Andy takes out his keys to open the door. She looks around and notices an iron rod lying on the ground. She grins before picking it up. Andy opens the door to let Emma in, but is immediately beaten over the head with the rod and knocked out. Emma hurries inside the room. Joanna sits on her bed, motionless, but finally acknowledges Emma's presence with a gasp. "Oh my god... What, what are you doing here?" she asks shocked. Emma tells her that there is no time and that Joanna needs to get out of there. "I, I don't understand. What's going on?" Emma takes out the folded up papers and hands them to her long lost friend. "I can't explain it all right now. All I can say is that it's all in here. I want you to go find your father and follow the instructions listed on those papers. It will benefit us both, but if you don't do it, we're all screwed. Now go!" Joanna nods and runs out of her room, hurrying out of the building. Emma follows her, but before she does, she sees Andy on the ground, slowly waking up. She takes a revolver out of her purse and shoots him in the head. She whispers to herself, "It's the beginning of the end..."


	10. "Bang"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Andrew fires Silvers after proving to be useless, but he doesn't exactly take it well. Rena starts thinking about his feelings for Ali. Josh finds out about Val's pregnancy. And Emma gets her ultimate revenge on everyone who has ever done her wrong.

It's a cold winter's night and Emma has snuck out and started driving down the highway. She has a look of determination on her face. Her car drives past a sign reading “Now leaving Wiksteria”. She looks into the passenger seat where sitting is a revolver. The mentally deranged woman grins.  
After about an hour-long car ride, Emma pulls up to the trailer she lived in as a child. A look of disgust appears on her face and she grabs her gun. She approaches the trailer door. At first she hesitates, but she finally knocks. From the inside, Adam yells, “Timmy, open the god-damn door! I'm in the middle of beating your mother!” Back outside, Emma can't help but smirk. Timmy, a boy about four to five years old, opens the door. His face is beaten and bruised and he looks like he hasn't taken a shower in over a year. “Who are you?” the boy asks very innocently and quietly. Emma pulls out her gun and tells him to step aside. The boy lets out a scream and Adam and Bree hurry into the room. Adam, ignoring the gun aimed at him, yells, “What the fuck are ''you'' doing here? I thought we told you to never contact us again, you miserable piece of shit.” “She probably quit taking her pills and snapped. Haha, she thinks we're scared of a little gun,” Bree says with a chuckle. Emma, however, isn't smiling. “Seriously... seriously... SERIOUSLY?!?!?! I'M AIMING A MOTHERFUCKING GUN AT YOU AND YOU SERIOUSLY THINK I WON'T SHOOT?!?!?!” Adam rolls his eyes, “You were always so annoying. You overreact about every little thing. You're not really gonna shoot us,” Adam walks towards Emma, slowly pushes her hand down, and whispers in her ear, “You don't have the guts...” Emma's eyes widen and her jaw drops. She pushes her evil father away and grabs her little brother by the hair. He lets out a scream of terror. Emma holds the gun up to his head and says to her parents, “You still don't think I have the ability to kill? Well watch me!” Adam and Bree laugh. “Go ahead,” Adam says, “You'd be doing us a favor.” “Oh and don't be afraid to shoot yourself later. It's something I kinda wanna see,” Bree adds on. Emma's eyes slowly start to water as she listens to the insults that come from the two people, who out of everyone else in the world, are suppose to love her the most. Timmy pleads for Emma to let him go, but she ignores him.  
Flashes go through her mind of Adam and Bree abusing her as a child, and when she hid under the trailer, and how Adam constantly called her weak and useless, the time Bree let Chung rape her for money, the moment she shot Chung's testicles off, meeting Danielle for the first time ("How a Bitch Is Formed"), watching Joanna have a nervous breakdown ("Young Love"/"How a Bitch Is Formed"), being choked by Josh, making out with Ben ("It Takes One to Know One"), and having Ben leave her ("Get It Through Your Head")...  
Finally, a gunshot is heard, and Timmy's head is now splattered everywhere. Adam and Bree's jaw's drop in shock. Emma tries to hold in her tears before shooting both her parents in the kneecaps. They scream in pain. “YOU STUPID BITCH,” Adam yells. “CHOKE ON SHIT,” Bree adds on. Emma storms out of the trailer and heads to her car. She opens her trunk where she stares at some matches, a lighter, and several cans of gasoline.  
Not too long later, Emma is seen speeding off from her parents home, having just lit it on fire. The trailer slowly burns to the ground, and the deranged sociopath looks back with zero regrets.

The following morning at the Swift home, Rena's alarm clock goes off and he gets out of bed. As he rubs his eyes so he can see clearly again, he hears glass shatter and yelling from downstairs. He hurries up and gets dressed and hurries to the kitchen where he finds Ali watching Andrew and Silvers having one of their arguments. “What's going on?” Rena whispers to his friend. “Oh it's nothing, this kind of stuff always happens with them. To be honest I'm hoping a fist-fight is involved this time.” Rena and Ali both chuckle before turning their attention back to Andrew and Silvers. “God damn it,” Andrew says before punching the table, “I need you to find some way to get rid of Valentina Gold without killing her.” Silvers kicks the wall, “You know I don't work that way. You kill and I dispose of bodies. That is the agreement.” “Well Silvers, quite frankly, I don't think I can work like that. You're fired!” Rena and Ali's jaws drop in disbelief. Joseph chuckles and says, “You're joking. You won't fire me because you know you need me. It's as simple as that.” “Really? Then why am I telling you to get THE FUCK OUT OF MY HOUSE?!” Silvers storms over to the door, “You're gonna regret this!” And he leaves, slamming the door behind him. Ali and Rena stand up and get ready to leave for school, the former kisses her dad on the cheek, bringing a small smile to his face. Andrew tells her to have a good day. Ali leaves, but Rena is stopped. Andrew tells Rena, “In case you ever did want to maybe try moving things forward with my baby girl, just know, you've got my blessing. In the past two months or so, you've proven to be a great guy for her.” Rena gives a genuine smile and thanks Andrew before heading out the door.  
Outside the Swift home, Silvers sits in his car and takes out his phone and speed-dials someone. They quickly answer and Joe says, “Jefferson, get our best men on the job! We're gonna take a trip to East Wiksteria High School...”

At the school, Val is standing with her Christian friends, Amy and Alyssa. Amy holds up a large mirror for Val, while Alyssa applies Val's lipstick. “So what big news are you telling Josh?” Amy curiously asks. “That is not information that the followers need to know,” Valentina snaps. “Y-yes ma’am,” the follower replies, a little shaken. Val sees Josh coming into the school and motions her two slaves to leave. She hurries over to her beau and passionately shoves her tongue down his throat. “What was that for?” Josh asks with a gleeful grin. Val, who is now kinda worried, says, “We need to talk...” Josh is now nervous too, and he follows Val up the school building stairs.

On the other end of the school, Ben is seen putting books in his locker. When he closes it, he jumps in shock when he sees Liz -- and she is not happy. “Damn it, you scared me half to death,” Ben says. Liz punches him in the nose. Ben is taken aback by this and grabs his now bloody nose. Liz pushes her friend's ex backwards and yells, “How could you?” Ben is confused, but his attention is mainly directed to his bloody nose. Liz kicks him to the ground as she cries, “Emma almost killed herself because of you! She loved you! SHE LOVED YOU!” Ben cowers on the ground and coughs up a little blood. He manages to spit out the words, “I'm s-sorry...” but this means nothing to the girl who almost lost her best friend. She kneels down beside him and whispers in his ear, “There will be hell to pay. And it may come sooner than you think...” At this, Liz slams Ben's head into the ground and storms away.

Outside the school, Emma pulls into the parking lot and hurries out of her car. She loads her revolver with bullets as she walks up the steps. Once getting into the building, she looks around at all the people. “Excuse me,” she yells, but no one hears her. “Excuse me,” she yells a little louder, but still no one hears her. Finally Emma shoots a random cheerleader in the neck. Everyone is silenced and turns to Emma in shock. The other cheerleaders scream in terror. “SHUT THE FUCK UP!!!” Emma screams, “Now look, I'm sick of shit. I'm sick of shit from all you shitty-ass people,” Emma continues, waving her gun. “Now we're gonna play a little game where I shoot you all in the neck. K? Now who should go first?” Emma looks around the large crowd. Amongst them are Liz, Isabelle Katz, Joey Davis, and James Duong. The sociopath's eye lands on Joey. “Huh, I never did like you.” Before Joey can say anything, Emma pulls the trigger and shoots him in the head. He collapses to the ground, dead. “Who's next?” Emma asks, now with a thirst for blood. It's silent for a moment, but finally all hell breaks loose and everyone screams in terror as they run around like maniacs. Emma just walks, shooting random people.

Rena and Ali come into the school from a different entrance. They're nervous when they hear the gunshots and people screaming. Principal Sonya comes running down the hall and Rena stops him. “Sir, sir, what the hell is going on?” “Emma Cassidy. She came into the school with a gun and is shooting whoever stands in her way. I think she's either looking for someone or she's just bat crap crazy. Now if you would excuse me, I need to call my wife.” Brad runs past Rena and Ali, leaving the two horrified.

Upstairs, Josh and Val hurry into a broom closet, as they're trying to talk and hide from the mad woman at the same time. “Okay, I think we'll be safe in here,” Josh says, “Now what did you wanna talk about?” Tears start forming in Val's eyes, “I- I'm s- so sorry for all of this.” Josh takes his girlfriend's hands and tries to comfort her. He asks why she would be sorry. “I- I, we never should've had sex. I, I let Emma get to my head and now look where it's gotten us.” Josh is confused. “Val... what's going on?” “I'm pregnant!” she finally says. Josh quickly yanks his hands back and is left in shock.

Among the crowd of running and screaming people is Liz. She looks around and notices Ben still lying on the ground from the beating she gave him. She hurries over and helps him to his feet. “K, Ben, we need to get you out of here. I'm pretty sure Emma is getting ready to kill you, and despite my hatred for you, I still have a heart.” “She is fucking crazy!” “Yes, I know, you can bitch about her later, but right now we need to get you safely out of here. We need to find the nearest exit, now let's go.” Liz and Ben start running down the hall to safety.

At the Santiago home, Justine is in the kitchen making lunch for her and Fernando while listening to the news on the small TV that sits on the counter. “About our latest story, a sophomore girl by the name of Emma Cassidy has gone into the school with a gun and started killing innocent students.” Justine is shocked and yells for Fernando to come into the room. He does as told and they both listen to the story. Fernando gulps and utters the words, “Oh my God... Rena...”

At the Fitzgerald home, Gloria is seen dying her roots as she watches the news. When she hears about the shooting, she lets out a loud, “BENJAMIN!!!” followed by a stream of tears.

Over at the Wiksteria Church, Pastor Dean is pastoring while Celeste plays the piano at the 11:00 mass when someone gets a text on their phone. The man interrupts the service to tell everyone about the shoot-out at East Wiksteria High. Pastor Dean's jaw drops, “My son is there.” “And so is my daughter,” Celeste adds on. The two of them hurry out of the chapel.

At the Swift home, Andrew is in the middle of a rage-fit and is tearing apart his home when he accidentally turns the TV on. The reporter talks about the shooting a little bit more and all Andrew can think about is his daughter.

And finally at the Delatour manor, Janine is receiving a neck massage from one of her Latino boy-toys when another one of the toys rushes in and tells his boss about Emma. She quickly sits up and cries, “No...”

Outside of East Wiksteria, Silvers sits in his car with several large men who are all holding machine guns. They listen to a portable radio that the news reporter is broadcasting on. “Okay men, let this Emma girl do her think and we do our thing. We are only after two people by the names of Renato Santiago and Alison Swift. Now let's go.” Silvers and the other men all hop out of the car with their guns and head for the school.

Ben and Liz finally find an exit. “Oh look, over there,” Ben points. He and Liz start to run towards it but in come Silvers and his men. Ben and Liz scream and run in the opposite direction. Silvers' crew start raining havoc on the school as they shoot into the air, terrorizing the students even more. “Rena and Ali, come out, come out, wherever you are,” Joe says with a grin.

Rena and Ali hear the familiar voice that belongs to their newest enemy and turn to each other in shock. Silvers sees them and the men start chasing after them. Rena and Ali start running down the hall as the men shoot at them. “FUCK, FUCK, FUCK,” Rena and Ali say in unison.

Inside the broom closet, Josh has a hard time digesting this new information he has to take in. “I'm so sorry,” Val cries. “How long have you known?” Josh asks. “Only a few days... And don't worry, we will put him or her up for adoption and never look back... and of course I will never have sex again.” “No! No one can find out about this. You need to get an abortion.” Val is shocked, “What? Why?” “Because if you don't, we'll probably both get disowned by our parents. You need to kill that thing.” “When?” “I don't know, but right now we need to get our asses out of this school.” Josh slowly starts opening the broom closet door and looks both ways to make sure they're in the clear. He sees that the hall is empty and he and Val start running.

Emma comes out of a classroom, having just killed about thirty kids. She walks down the empty hallway, looking around for her next victims. Ben and Liz come running towards her, but quickly stop when they see the gun-toting bitch. Emma's furious. “Liz? You're helping him hide from me? HOW COULD YOU???” Ben and Liz start running as Emma shoots at them. Coming down the hall the opposite direction are Josh and Val. They, along with Ben and Liz, scream and run as Emma starts to gain on them. They make a sharp turn down a different hall and head into the bathroom. The four teens think they're safe, but are startled when Emma bursts in through the door. “Time to die!...”

Outside the school, news reporters, policemen, firefighters, ambulances, and other town residents are gathering around the building, all hoping their children are alive. Gloria Fitzgerald is having a full breakdown, screaming for her little Benjy to come out of the building safely. She storms over to a cop, her hair a mess and her make-up rubbing off. “Officer, are you gonna shoot that mad woman with a poisoned dart already? Or am I gonna have to do it?” The policeman asks Gloria to step back and tells her that they have it all under control. “Under control? It's the incompetent city workers like you that are the reason people like Emma Cassidy can just walk into schools with a gun and kill whoever they desire. My Benjamin might be dead now. AND IT'S BECAUSE OF YOU!!!” Gloria grabs the cop's shoulders and starts to shake him repeatedly. Two other cops see this and try to restrain the woman. A third policeman shoots Gloria with a tranquilizer dart, knocking her unconscious.  
Justine and Fernando pull up in their car and hurry over to the same officer who was just shaken by Gloria. “Sir, sir, what's going to happen?” Fernando asks, “Is someone going to go in there and knock the killer out? What's the plan?” “Your son or daughter is going to be just fine. We have it all under control. Our plan is to wait a little bit longer and then we will send in a crew of men to find Ms. Cassidy.” Justine is upset, “Wait a little longer? This girl can kill several more people in that time. Why wait longer? What the hell do you think she's going to do? Turn herself in? My stepson could be among the survivors right now, but he could die at any moment.” The officer motions Justine and Fernando to step back. “I am doing everything I can. Please let me do my job.”

Back inside East Wiksteria, Rena and Ali are running from Silvers and his men who are still firing their machine guns at them. The young couple see Principal Sonya's office and hurry for the door. They stop, however, when another of Silvers' men comes out, thus cornering Rena and Ali. Two men grab the kids and Silvers approaches them, wickedly smiling and clapping as he does. “Bravo, bravo, you two gave me quite a workout today. Too bad it was for nothing. You see, I, Joseph V. Silvers III, never fail. I also don't kill.” Rena and Ali are confused. Silvers continues, “And this is why I'm letting you two go. In case you hadn't noticed, me and my men came into your school and blew up everything, but not a single person died... because of us, I mean. Of course you still have your school shooter, but that's irrelevant. Anyways, Ali, let your old man know that he should give me my job back.” Silvers motions his men to let Rena and Ali go and for them to follow him out of the school. The two teenagers are left horrified.

“Time to die...” Emma says in the upstairs girls' bathroom. Ben, Liz, Josh, and Val all back up to the corner in fear. “Liz,” Emma starts, “How could you? You've betrayed me. You should've been able to guess Ben was my main target in this entire mess, and yet you helped him escape. Well -- ''tried'' to help him escape.” “I, I- I'm sorry,” Liz cries. Josh slowly and calmly says to Emma, “Please, just put the gun down and back away. You don't have to do this.” “SHUT UP!!!” Emma says, startling everyone. “NO ONE TELLS ME WHAT TO DO!!! NO ONE!!!” Everyone is nervous as the mad woman shakes, and is ready to pull the trigger at any moment. Ben, being more brave than the rest, steps forward and says, “Emma, look, it's me, Ben. Remember me? You're not in your right mind right now. You need to put the gun down and turn yourself in.” As the tears stream down the psychotic woman's face, she utters, “No, they'll lock me away forever. No, just no. I'm not letting them do to me what they did to Joanna...” Emma shoots Josh and Val an angry glare. “It- it's time for you all to die now... S- so everyone's backs towards me and up against the wall!” Ben, Josh, Liz, and Val all do as told. They stand in a line, ready for their own demise one by one. The four teens hold their breath, but are unable to control the ongoing tears. Emma holds the gun up, aiming for Ben first. The tears stream down her face as she is ready to pull the trigger. The camera moves to show Ben's face, also soaked with tears. The gun is fired. The four, I guess you could say friends, look around, realizing that none of them are injured. They turn around and find Emma's blood-soaked body collapsed on the ground after having shot ''herself'' in the head. Liz lets out a loud scream. Val buries her head into Josh's arms, crying. And Ben kneels down next to his first love and whispers to her, “I love you...”


	11. "The Beginning of the End, Part 1"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The funeral for Emma Cassidy is held. Ben's relationship with his now estranged mother starts to crumble. Josh has to make some big decisions regarding his relationship with Val and with his church. Fernando and Justine have Rena move home. Silvers has Ali think about the consequences if Val decides to spread her mouth about the Danielle's death. And Joanna makes her grand return to Wiksteria.

The news reporters are alerted by someone in the East Wiksteria building that Emma Cassidy is dead. The police are trying to calm down the large crowd that stands outside the high school in order for the students to come out. One by one, the crowd of kids that are still alive make their way out of the building and are reunited with their families. Isabelle Katz is seen hurrying over to her fat parents as they all dig into a bag of pork rinds. James Duong is seen running over to his skinny Asian parents. They tell him about how he has brought honor to their family for not getting a bullet to the head like a lot of other students. Rena and Ali come running out of the school. Ali is reunited with Andrew and they embrace in a huge father/daughter hug. Rena watches, a little glum that his parents aren't there, but is startled when someone taps on his shoulder. He turns around and sees Justine and Fernando. After a moment of silence, the three Santiagos group hug, tears coming out of all of their eyes. "I've missed you so much," Fernando finally says, "Please come home." Rena nods and says he will. Next to come out of the school are Josh and Val. They both look at each other for a moment but don't say anything. They look into the crowd and see Pastor Dean and Celeste. Their family is then reunited. Standing alone is Janine Delatour, the woman whose child was responsible for everything. She distances herself out from everyone and just watches as all the happy families are reunited. Then she looks back into where she sees one last person come out -- Ben Fitzgerald -- and in his arms is none other than the body of Emma Cassidy. Janine starts to weep at the sight of her dead niece. Liz, who is in the middle of reuniting with her parents, sees Janine crying. She excuses herself from her family and hugs the aunt of her deceased friend. "I know exactly how you feel..." The two women hug and cry over their loss.  
Ben carries Emma's corpse over to the officers. "Here she is... please... take care of her." The cops are rather confused to why Ben would actually be upset that she died when she ''did'' hold him at gunpoint. Ben is insulted. "I'm upset because I loved her! She, she was my first love and I had to watch her kill herself. Do you know how that feels?" The officer says that he doesn't. He then has two of the doctors remove the corpse from Ben's possession. "So tell me, Mr. Fitzgerald, who exactly witnessed Ms. Cassidy's suicide?" "Me, Joshua Fisher, Valentina Gold, and Elizabeth Vitale. Why?" "We're going to need the four of you to stop by the station later for questioning." "Questioning? You seriously think one of us killed her?" "No, no, nothing like that. We just need to know all the facts." Ben nods, a little suspicious, before walking away. Gloria, who's been looking for her son, sees Ben and rushes over practically tackling him. "Oh Benjamin I was so worried I had lost you." Ben is clearly annoyed and doesn't hug his mother back. Gloria asks him what's wrong. "I'd like you to let me go, mother," Ben says. Gloria is shocked and a little hurt by this, but does as told. Ben, without saying anything else, walks away.

The following day, Josh hasn't had any contact with his girlfriend since they reunited with their parents after the school shooting. He arrives at Wiksteria Church and enters the confessionary. "Forgive me father, for I have sinned." The priest asks when Josh's last confession was and he says it was about three months before. "Anyways, I have a lot to get off my plate and there's really no one else I feel comfortable about revealing this to." "Well get on with it, my child," the priest says. "Well, for one I survived the school shooting at East Wiksteria High School. I, I was one of the four people who watched her kill herself. And she used to have this huge crush on me." "Do you think you're the one responsible for her having a breakdown like that and killing all of those poor souls?" "Oh no, that was my friend, but that's not why I'm here. Before Emma trapped me and three of my friends in the bathroom where she was originally going to kill us, I was with one of my friends, well, girlfriend, Valentina, and she told me some news that kind of make me wish Emma took my life instead of hers." "And what was this news?" "Well... Val told me she's pregnant with my child... but we only had sex the one time." "Sometimes it just takes the one try. So was that what you were here to talk about?" "Kind of... you see, after finding out she's pregnant, I kind of... don't want to be with her anymore..." "Oh... oh my, um, this, this is something..." "I don't know what to do. If I stay with her I may never be happy again, but if I leave her then I'm most likely no longer welcomed in this church." "You're darn certain you won't be welcomed in this church. I suggest you think very carefully about what you need to do." "Yes, father." Josh exits the confession.

At the Swift home, Silvers knocks on the front door. After a few moments of waiting, Andrew answers it and immediately spits in his visitor's face. "That's for nearly killing my daughter, you sick freak." Silvers wipes the saliva away from his face before chuckling, "Oh Andrew, you poor simpleton. You should be grateful I didn't kill Ali, or anyone at East Wiksteria for that matter. I just showed her and Renato what I was capable of. Now back to business, I need Ali to kill Valentina Gold before all this shit falls apart." Andrew asks Silvers why he didn't just do it himself when he had the chance. "Because as I've said many times before, I don't kill." "Well why do you care about Valentina? I fired you. Her exposing my family' secrets wouldn't affect you one way or the other." "Actually it would. It wouldn't take the police long to figure out I disposed of Danielle Clark's body and then I'd be brought down with you. So, let me in your home so I can make you daughter blow that bitch's brains out." After a little reluctance, Andrew finally opens the door wide enough, motioning Silvers to come in.

At the Fitzgerald home, Gloria comes downstairs, face covered in one of those green facial-cream-mask-thingies and hair up in curls. "Benjamin, I need you to run to the sto-" She is shocked to see her son standing by the front door with all of his suitcases packed. "Benjamin, what the hell are you doing?" Gloria asks, confused. "Leaving..." Gloria is still confused, so Ben continues. "After what happened... with Emma... I chose you over the woman I loved and it drove her to kill a bunch of students and then herself. Not to mention that there's evidence that suggests she also murdered her parents. I drove her to do something like that all because you made me choose between you and her. The guilt is just tearing me apart and every time I look at you I get these horrible thoughts." Ben is now in tears, "Thoughts that make me wanna just hurt you in the worst way possible. I, I just can't stay in this environment anymore. I'm sorry..." Ben picks up his luggage and leaves. Gloria is left bawling her eyes out.

Back at the Swift home, Ali is seen entering her house. "Dad, I'm home," she yells. The girl makes her way into the living room where she finds Silvers lying on the couch, feet up on the coffee table. Andrew sits in the chair, uncomfortably, across from his guest. "Oh what the fuck is this?" Ali asks, annoyed to see Silvers in her home, "Bitch, I want you out of my house in the next five seconds, or I'm gonna chop off your balls!" Silvers can't help but smirk. Ali asks her father why he'd let that mad man in their home. Before Andrew can say anything, Silvers exclaims, "Because I'm here to save all of us from any shit that could happen with Valentina knowing your family' secrets." "I'm not gonna kill her!" Ali says, "She's my best friend! She's not gonna tell anyone what she knows." Joseph tells Ali that she cannot be too sure about this, "Now call Rena, and have him get over here immediately!" Ali mumbles to herself as she takes out her phone.  
Meanwhile at the Santiago home, Rena, Justine, and Fernando are moving boxes back into the former's old bedroom. "Rena," Fernando starts, "I'm sorry... for kicking you out... I, I don't know. It was just that you were arrested for killing your mother, Silvia. Then you come back and suddenly a girl from your school, Danielle Clark, was killed. I believe that you're innocent and I should've believed you sooner." Rena tells his father that he is forgiven and they embrace in a father-son hug. Justine ruins the moment by exclaiming "Awwwww." Rena rolls his eyes at the sight of his stepmother, and even Fernando found her a bit irritating that time. "Justine, darling, there's two bags that are downstairs, would you mind getting them?" the man asks. "Sure, sweetie," Justine says, before leaving the room. Rena gets ready to say something, but his phone vibrates. He takes it out and reads a text from Ali saying "Get over here, ASAP..." A nervous Rena tells Fernando that they can talk later, but something's come up. Before his father can say anything, the teenager is out the door.  
Rena barges into the Swift home, "Ali? Ali, where are you? What happened?" He heads into the living room and finds Ali, Andrew, and Silvers. He looks at Ali and asks why ''he'' is there, referring to Silvers. "I'm here," Silvers butts in, "because like I've already said to dear Alison over here, I need you two to kill that Valentina bitch." Rena rolls his eyes, "Haven't we been over this? IT'S NOT GONNA HAPPEN!!!" "Renato, do you not realize that if she tells anyone, or if this gets to the police, we all go down. Alison, Andrew, me, and you. And don't give me that bullshit that Valentina won't tell anyone. She's a 16-year-old girl with lots of friends, she's bound to spill the beans to someone." Ali finally butts in and says, "Silvers, you should leave now! Our minds have been made up." Silvers refuses. Ali's jaw drops. "Excuse me? GET YOUR ASS OUTTA MY HOUSE!!!" "Alison..." Andrew starts, but it's too late. Ali grabs Silvers by his arms and starts dragging him to the door. She slams him up against the wall and whispers in his ear, "Never contact us again! If I find out you've even looked at my house, or Rena's, I will personally make sure your balls come off with a chainsaw! Do you understand?" A clearly pissed off Silvers nods and heads out the door.

At the Wiksteria Church, Janine and Liz are quietly arranging flowers for Emma's funeral. The former starts to break down into tears. Liz hurries over and comforts her, “Oh Ms. Delatour,” she says hugging her dead friend's aunt, “it'll be alright. I know it's hard, but we'll be able to get through this." The two women quietly cry. Isabelle Katz barges into the church as she stumbles around, trying to hold on to a large potted plant. "Liz, could you please-" "SHUT THE FUCK UP, ISABELLE, WE ARE TRYING TO MOURN!!!" Liz yells. Isabelle lets out a shriek of terror. She drops the plant, causing the pot to break, and she runs out the door. As Isabelle leaves, Ben enters the church. Liz, who's clearly annoyed, asks why he's there. "I wanna help out. It kinda ''is'' my fault Emma did what she did..." "Yeah, and you're lucky I saved your ass from getting a bullet to the head." Janine interrupts the conversation by telling Ben that there's a broom in the back storage closet and if he wants, he can clean up the mess that was made by the "incompetent" Isabelle. "Sure thing, Ms. Delatour," he starts to walk away, but before he does, he turns to the aunt of his deceased girlfriend and says, "By the way, I'm sorry about all of this, I really am." Janine tells Ben that it isn't his fault, as he didn't know Emma would break down the way she did. Ben nods and heads for the back room closet. Janine wipes away another tear.

_ Two days later _

It's the day of the funeral, and a small group is gathered at the Wiksteria Church to mourn the loss of Emma Cassidy. Pastor Dean goes on about life and death, and Celeste plays the piano, just like a regular funeral at that particular church. Janine is getting ready to bid a farewell to her departed niece when one of the hired security guards calls for her attention. "Mrs. Delatour, there's a lot of news reporters outside who wanna get a look at the body, should I let them in?" Janine slaps the security guard across the face, "Don't ever refer to my late niece as 'the body' ever again! As for those vultures outside, tell them to go to hell!" The security guard, now grasping his red cheek, nods and heads back towards the door.

Outside the church, a woman is seen sitting in a limo, watching people head in and out of the building -- it's Joanna. In the car with her are two men, Jason and Drew. They're about 25 years old. Jason sits in the front seat as the driver, while Drew sits in the back with Jo. "Boss might not be too happy about this," Jason exclaims. "Shut the fuck up!" Jo snaps back, "Your ''boss'' is my father, so that also makes ''me'' your boss." "Not exactly," Drew butts in, "Really you're just-" Jo punches him in the nose. He yelps in pain and tilts his head back, trying to stop the blood from coming out of his nose. "Like I said before," Joanna says, "Shut the fuck up!" The two men are now annoyed, but also terrified.

Inside the church, Liz is on her way to mourn the loss of Emma when Isabelle rushes over and interrupts her. "WHAT THE FUCK, ISABELLE??? CAN YOU LET ME MOURN FOR FIVE SECONDS???" Liz shouts. A crowd of mourners look over at her, shocked. Liz doesn't know what to say for a moment, but she finally bitch-slaps Isabelle. The crowd is more shocked than ever. Liz and Isabelle move towards the back of the church and the crowd goes back to doing what they were doing before. "K, what do you want?" Liz asks, clearly annoyed and ready to claw Izzy's eyes out. "Principal Sonya called," Isabelle says, "apparently you signed up for the dance committee?" "Yeah? What about it?" Liz asks. "Well the date has been changed to Monday... Meaning that you only have tomorrow and Sunday to get ready..." Liz is silent for a moment. All she can do is make direct eye contact with her mistreated 'friend' -- that is until -- "OH MY FUCKING GOD!!! JESUS MOTHERFUCKING SHIT!!!" Liz pushes Isabelle to the ground, all eyes are now on her, as they watch the furious teenager storm out of the church.  
As Liz causes her dramatic scene that is completely irrelevant to the dead girl, Ben is looking through the crowd trying to find Janine. He finally sees her, crying in one of her hot, muscular, Mexican employee's arms. "She was so young," Janine sobs, referring to Emma, "and she just snapped. Just like that. I had no idea about the pills. She just hid them. I don't even know where she was getting them, but then she quit taking them and all that anger just-" the woman goes on talking and continues to bawl her eyes out. Ben approaches Janine and the Mexican. "Mrs. Delatour," Ben asks, "may I have a word with you?" Janine motions for her Mexican friend to give her some privacy and he obliges, leaving the two alone. She asks Ben what's on his mind. "Look, Janine, I really am sorry.. about everything that has happened. I, I didn't expect for things to turn out like this.. I, I don't know anymore. I really did love your niece, and-" Janine starts tearing up and the waterworks start once again. She slaps Ben across the face. The teenaged boy is shocked and grasps his now red cheek. Janine wipes away her tears and says, "You are the reason I have no family left! My parents died, I had cut off all contact with my disgusting sister and her husband, then they're murdered! I've been through seven husbands and never had a child. Emma was my child and you ruined that for me. I loved her so much that I don't give a flying fuck about the innocent people she killed! I, I just want her back!" The woman starts crying into Ben's arms. He awkwardly comforts her and tells her it'll be alright. Once Janine finally manages to control herself and keep a straight face, she says to Ben, "Even though this is all your fault, you did give Emma the happiest two months of her life and for that I am forever grateful." Ben thanks her and wishes her the best of luck with life. Janine smiles and they part ways.

At the entrance of the church, Rena and Ali are seen entering. As they walk and talk, Ali's phone vibrates and she reads a text message from Silvers saying ''"I'm right outside if you decide to slit her throat."'' Ali rolls her eyes and shows the text to Rena. "When when the fuck will he give up on you killing Val?" the Portuguese man asks. "I don't know," Ali says, annoyed, "I hope soon because I only killed Danielle and Helena two months ago and I'm not ready to kill again. The only way I would is if she decided to be like the Clark family and blackmail." "Hopefully she's smart enough to keep this to herself." Ali nods and receives another text from Silvers saying, ''"I keep a pocket knife in the glove compartment if you want."'' A pissed off Ali throws her phone on the ground and start smashing it with her shoe repeatedly. Rena looks around and notices Val coming in through the other door. "Hey, look," he says, pointing her out, "there she is. You wanna head over?" "Sure, why not," Ali responds. They start heading towards her when they see she's on the phone with someone. They stop and wait for Val to finish up her conversation, her still not noticing Rena and Ali's presence. "Yeah, so like, Amy, my mother is definitely gonna throw me out when she finds out I'm pregnant. Josh will probably be kicked out too, and we have no money. It's okay though, I think I can get some from Alison Swift and Rena Santiago, I'm keeping my mouth shut about something huge." Rena and Ali both turn to each other, utterly pissed. "Anyways, I gotta go," and with that Val hangs up. She starts heading towards the back of the church when she's all of a sudden slammed against the wall by Ali. The latter slaps Val across the face. "Bitch, you think you can screw with me? Hell to the fucking no!" Rena doesn't exactly know how to respond, he just nervously watches, looking around to make sure people don't notice. Meanwhile, Ali bashes Val's head against the wall and whispers in her ear, "Screwing with me is what got Danielle in her early grave..." Val's eyes widen in fear. As Ali prepares to strike the Christian bitch, Josh approaches them, "What the fuck?..." he asks, confused. Ali quickly shoves Val away and puts a smile on her face saying that she and her "friend" were just having a chat. Josh clearly doesn't believe her, but also doesn't care enough to start questioning. He turns to the mother of his unborn child and takes her hand. Josh and Val walk over to where they can be alone. "Hi.. You haven't talked to me since you heard the news.." the latter says. Josh doesn't exactly know how to respond, knowing that it will turn out bad either way he says it. "Val, there's something I need to talk to you about..." Josh says nervously. Val nods, listening.  
Meanwhile, Rena and Ali watch. The latter asks to borrow Rena's phone. He hands it over and Ali dials a number. After waiting a few moments, someone picks up on the other line -- it's Silvers. "Ali?" he asks. "Yeah, it's me, get the trunk ready because I'm about to have another body ready for disposal." Silvers grins and tells her that he's in his van right out front and has a few armed men if she needs any. Ali thanks him and hangs up. "Okay," Rena says, "you sure you're ready to finally kill the bitch? And we gotta be careful. We're in broad daylight, so this won't be too easy." Ali assures him that they'll be fine. They look back over at Josh and Val. Val is seen in tears, bitch-slapping her now ex-boyfriend. "You filthy pig!" Valentina exclaims, "You tell me you love me, you fuck my brains out, get me pregnant, and then decide to leave?! Oh my fucking god! Sweet Jesus I've had enough of this shit!" "Val," Josh says, trying to calm her down, but she continues talking. "I'm done with all this dumb fucking shitty ass religious Christian shit! There is no God! There is no Jesus! If I'm pissed off, I'm gonna cuss my ass off!! Joshua Lee Fisher, it will snow on the hills of hell before I can ever look at you without wanting to cut your fucking balls off ever again!! Hell, I should go to the school and pull a stunt like Emma and kill a bunch of people. I hate men!" Val makes her way to the door, but before she does she turns to Rena and Ali. "As for you two, I expect a twenty-thousand dollar check by tomorrow, k? Good." She storms out of the church. Ali is ready to go off. She utters the words "Oh fuck no.."  
Ali storms out of the church behind Val and yells, "YOU FUCKING BITCH!!!" She looks around and grabs a rock from the little rock garden next to the door and throws it at the ex-Christian. It hits her right over the head. This gives Ali the time to tackle her to the ground and start choking her. Silvers is parked about twenty feet away and hops out of his car and opens the trunk that is all prepared for the body. He grabs a gun and glances in their direction, grinning at the sight of Val being strangled. Rena hurries outside and Silvers tosses him a taser. He zaps Val with it several times in the legs causing the woman extreme and utter pain.  
Meanwhile, while Val is being tortured in a church parking lot, Josh is depressed. Ben approaches him and asks what's wrong. "Val and I just broke up," Josh says. Ben gives his condolences. Josh tells Ben he's sorry about Emma as well. As the two men are now both depressed they notice the church door is still opened a little. Ben goes to close it when he sees what is going on outside. He nudges Josh whose eyes widen and jaw drops. "Oh my God..."  
Inside the limo, Joanna is looking around and sees Val being tortured. She's shocked. "Some bitch is choking what is supposed to be my first kill. Oh, no, no, no." She turns to Jason and tells him to hand her a revolver, which he does. Joanna continues watching, but clearly has something planned.  
Ben and Josh rush outside and ask what the fuck is going on. Rena backs away from Val, finally giving up on his part of the torture. Ali releases Val once seeing Josh, but uses her hands to cover the girl's mouth. "Will someone please explain this?" Josh asks, annoyed, pissed, and confused. Ben nods, wanting to know the same. Silvers has two of his men grab them and hold them back. Val squirms, trying to be released. Rena feels guilty about all of this. Ali tells the men that she is doing what has to be done, and then continues choking Val. As the life starts to drain out of the pregnant teen, several gunshots are heard. Ali quickly releases Val once again, this time she manages to get up and get away from her crazy ex-friend.  
From inside the limo, it is shown that Joanna is the one that pulled the trigger several times. Drew asks why she did that. "Because, you dumbass, Valentina Gold is mine. I don't give a flipping fuck who they decide to choke, but Valentina is mine! I've waited enough years for this and I am not gonna watch all my planning go down the drain!" Jason and Drew nod.  
Val starts backing away from Ali, Rena, Silvers, Josh, Ben, and Silvers' men. She gasps for air, quickly inhaling and exhaling. "You, you tried to kill me!" she yells at Ali, shocked. "You, you actually tried t- to kill me. I, I was almost dead. You almost took my life. What... the fuck.. You are fucked up. Oh my God, and that socio you're friends with is too. Oh God he must've killed his mother." Val continues to back away, Rena looks down, upset because Ben and Josh are looking at him and he thinks they are judging. Val grins, "Oh, Alison, dear, sweet, Alison, you're done. I'm about to rock your world and you can't do shit about it. What was it you did? Oh yeah, you killed Danielle Clark." Ben and Josh are shocked. Ali is furious, nostrils flaring. She's trying to control herself. Val continues to back away, "At the Winter Dance, everyone will find out about your involvement in that crime." "You have no proof," Ali states. "Oh, don't I?" Val asks, amused. She takes out her phone, "I recorded a conversation I heard between your father and that Silvers person. And if that's not enough proof, I always have this," Val reaches into her bra and pulls out a Ziploc bag containing Danielle's bloody necklace that has hers and Ali's fingerprints on them. Ali gulps, and Rena glares at her, "I thought you said you destroyed that thing..." Ali looks down. Val smirks, "You're done, Ali. See you at the dance." She starts heading towards her car. Ali turns to Silvers and grabs his gun, and yells, "HEY VAL!!!" She looks back and Ali pulls the trigger -- but nothing happens. The gun isn't loaded... Val starts laughing as she gets into her car and drives off. Ali breaks down into a bitch fit and starts kicking some random car, eventually causing a dent in the door. She bashes in a window with her bare hands. She ignores the glass and blood and locks eyes with Rena and Silvers, and says, "Shit just got real!"

About two hours later, once everyone has left the church, Liz Vitale and Isabelle Katz are the last ones there. They start walking home. As they leave the church parking lot and start walking along the sidewalk, a limo pulls up to them and a window rolls down. It's Joanna, and she has a deceiving smile on her face. "Hi," she says, "are you two by any chance named Liz and Isabelle?" The girls nod, "Yeah, why?" Liz asks. Joanna keeps the smile plastered on her face, "Well I just moved here from Storywik, Maine, and I hear you two go to East Wiksteria High School. People say y'all are nice, so I thought I'd ask if maybe you wouldn't mind showing me around on my first day." She continues to keep on her creepy smile. Liz is starting to get suspicious, but the ditzy Isabelle tells them that they'd be happy to and that it's nice to meet her. She shakes Jo's hand. In order to be polite, Liz does the same, but unlike Iz, she doesn't give a smile when doing so. Jo says that she'll see them around and that it was great talking to them. As she starts to roll her window up, Liz stops her. "Wait, wait, we never did get your name." "Oh, sorry, it's Joanna, Joanna Silvers." Isabelle tells her that it's pretty. Jo thanks her before she rolls up the window. Liz and Isabelle watch as the limo drives off. Isabelle says that she seems really nice. "A little ''too'' nice if you ask me..." Liz says, her suspicions growing.

 


	12. "The Beginning of the End, Part 2"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rena and Ali must stop Val from revealing who killed Danielle to the whole school. Ben and Josh find out what exactly their former friend has been up to since returning to East Wiksteria. Silvers makes a shocking discovery. And Joanna is reunited with her father.

Rena, Ali, Ben, and Josh are riding in Silvers' van through the town of Wiksteria. Silvers drives. As he does so, he turns to Rena and Ali in the backseat and asks who ''they'' are, referring to Ben and Josh. "Josh used to date Val," Rena says, "and Ben was dating the girl whose funeral we were at." Silvers nods. "Okay, what the fuck is going on?" Josh asks in a pissy tone. "Just keep calm," Ali exclaims, "we'll explain later." Meanwhile, Ben tries to keep Silvers from seeing his face. "Well where the fuck are we going?" Josh asks, even pissier. Rena and Ali shrug. "We're going to HQ," Silvers responds. "And that is?" Josh wonders. "It's where you're gonna be put down." Josh's jaw drops, as does Rena and Ali's. "Okay, what the fuck?" Ali says, "Silvers, Josh isn't a threat." "He watched you choke Val and knows you killed Danielle Clark. He knows too much, and that is not good." "But I can help," Josh butts in, "I know how she works and I know where she might hide too." "I'm sorry, boy, but that is the end of discussion. Now why don't you just-" Silvers attention is caught by Ben. By how quiet he is and how he's covering his face. "Hey, uh, Ben, isn't that your name? Yeah, you've been awfully quiet." Everyone's eyes are now on Ben. Silvers tries to get a closer look at him, "Why don't you move your hand and show me your face?" Ben is a little nervous. He slowly moves his hand away. Silvers' eyes widen at the sight as if he's seen the young man before. Ben looks kind of nervous. After an awkward moment of silence, Silvers says, "Well boys, it's your lucky day. I've had a change of heart." While saying this, he's looking Ben in the eye and giving off a stern expression.  
Silvers' van reaches outside of Wiksteria. They ride down a long road in the middle of nowhere, connecting the two towns of Wiksteria and Storywik. Everyone is sitting in silence, bored out of their mind when suddenly Silvers drives off the road, hitting every bump there is. "What the hell are you doing?!" Rena yells. "Get back on the fucking road!!!" Ali screams into Silvers' ear. He doesn't listen though, he just continues going. Ben and Josh sit quietly, praying that they don't die. Suddenly Silvers stops the car. "Okay, what the fuck?" Rena asks. Ali smacks Silvers over the head. "Are you fucking drunk?! You almost got us killed!!" Silvers presses a button on his steering wheel. Suddenly, out in front of them, the ground starts to move downward like a ramp. Rena, Ali, Ben, and Josh are confused. Silvers starts driving down the ramp-like ground. The van makes its way into an underground headquarters. Rena, Ali, Ben, and Josh are all amazed. They all step out of the van. "And this is where all the bodies go," Silvers says. Everyone looks around. There are corpses frozen in glass, placed on a stand. Ali notices one stand that doesn't have a large tank with a corpse, but rather a box with ashes. The name plaque reads "Elise Swift". Ali wipes away the tears that are starting to form in her eyes. "So, is there anyone else working here?" Rena asks. "Well of course," Silvers responds, "we have a top notch crew all throughout the building. The older man has Rena, Ali, Ben, and Josh follow him into another room. Silvers flips on the light switch revealing a room of thousands of different high-tech machinery and weaponry. They're all amazed. Silvers picks up a specific piece of machinery that looks like a gun. He hands it to Ali and says, "Get Valentina outside and by herself and shoot her with this. It's full of tranquilizers that will kill the bitch within ten minutes of injection, that is, unless she receives medical treatment." Ali nods. Silvers reaches into his pocket and pulls out what looks like a whistle. He hands it to Rena and tells him to blow it once they need help to dispose of the body. Rena nods and places the whistle into his pocket. Silvers turns to Ben and Josh. "Well boys, you two are a part of this mess just as much as Renato and Alison. If you want to survive then you will stay by their side. No screw-ups!" Silvers says this while looking Ben in the eye. He and Josh nod in agreement. Silvers grins, "Great, so after the dance I'll have a new body to add to my collection." The four teens are kind of uncomfortable and nervously look at each other. After a moment of silence, Silvers' phone rings. He excuses himself and steps aside to take the call. "Hello? Yes, this is he." Silvers listens to the person on the other line. He gasps. "What? Is it really you?..." His eyes start to tear. "Oh... my god.." Everyone else around the middle aged man is confused. "Yes. We'll be reunited soon, my dear. I'll call you back... And I love you..." Silvers hangs up and for the first time in years he breaks down into tears of joy. Everyone else is left awkwardly confused.

_ Two days later _

"CHOKE ON SHIT, YOU FAT COW!!!" Liz says as she repeatedly slaps Isabelle across the face. The obese girl falls to the ground in pain and cries as she grasps her now red cheek. "WHY CAN'T YOU DO ANYTHING RIGHT???" Liz screams as she starts kicking the girl she calls her friend. They're in the school gym. People watch as Liz beats the girl, but no one dares to defend Iz. Principal Sonya rushes to the girl's safety, however, and pulls Liz away. "Elizabeth Vitale!" exclaims the principal. "Bradley Sonya!" Liz says back in a smart-ass manner. Sonya ignores the rude comment and continues, "What on earth gives you the right to act in such rude behavior?" "It's not my fault that that cow doesn't know how to do anything! I told her to make sure that we had a DJ booked, but Ms. Fat Ass over here misread the dates and got the guy booked for March 2nd, not February 3rd." Principal Sonya tells Liz that there is still no need to act out in violence like that and for her to just take a deep breath and not go beat up the first person she sees. Liz remains silent for a moment. She looks at her nails and notices that one is chipped. She glares at Brad right in the eyes, "Fuck. This. Shit." She spits in the principal's face and storms off. Everyone watches in shock as Liz makes her way out the door. Sonya wipes the spit off his face. Isabelle lies on the ground. Her nose is bleeding. "Could someone call the nurse?" she asks. Brad sighs.

At the Swift home, Ali is seen flipping through a magazine while sitting on the family room couch. She sighs at the thought of what her life has become, and all the people she's had to hurt in order to protect herself and her family. Andrew enters the room, bringing with him two cups of hot chocolate. He hands one to his daughter and sits with her. "Hey sweetie, are you alright?" Ali smiles at the sight of the melted chocolate drink, but sighs at the question. "I just, I just hate how this is all turning out. I thought Val was my friend, but she turned out to be just as fake as Danielle." "Honey, you did the right thing killing Danielle and Helena. They are both awful people who deserved what happened to them!" "I know, but I still feel guilty. Emma Cassidy lost one of her best friends the night Danielle died, and dozens of men lost their mistress the night Helena did. I just wish there was another way. I just wish ''it'' never happened." Andrew hugs his daughter and tells her that it's not her fault. "Yes it is!" Ali cries, "It is..." The father and daughter sit in silence.

Somewhere in Wiksteria, Joanna rides in the limo, Drew drives and Jason sits in the back. "So where exactly did your father want to meet with you?" Drew asks. Jo looks at the address she wrote down on her hand. "Well it's not his mansion, I can tell you that much. It's 666 Wikia Ave." "Huh," Jae says, "might as well be your father's home." A furious Jo pulls a pocket knife out of her bra and slits Jason's forehead. "WHAT THE FUCKING FUCK???" he screams in pain. "Don't ever insult my dad!!! If you do, the next time that knife will take away your manhood." Jason gulps.

Back at the Swift home, Ali and Andrew are still drinking their hot chocolate when Silvers enters the house, bringing with him one of those ice coolers. "What the fuck is he doing here?" Andrew asks. "I'm here to save your daughter's ass." "How so?" Ali asks, intrigued. "We're going back to the original plan and framing Fernando Santiago." "How do you plan on doing that?" Andrew butts in, "Ali destroyed the necklace Danielle was wearing." Ali hopes that no one notices her guilty expression because she never did end up destroying it. "Fuck that," Silvers says, "I have something that will make sure Fernando is sentenced to life." He opens up the cooler. Ali and Andrew gasp at the horrifying sight -- Danielle Clark's decapitated head. "Oh sweet Jesus," Ali says before using her hand to cover her mouth as if she was ready to vomit. Andrew turns to his daughter, "You never told me you chopped the bitch's head off." "Um, I didn't. I just stabbed the cunt in the stomach several times." Andrew turns to Silvers, disgusted by the fact that ''he'' did this. The middle-aged man ignores the glares and tells Ali to plant the head in the back of Fernando's freezer and to call the police immediately. That way, if Val survives one of Ali's attacks ''again'', the police will most likely think she's full of shit since their prime suspect had the dead girl's head. "This could work," Ali replies. Andrew nods as well. Silvers grins. From outside, he can hear a car coming. He looks out the window and smiles at the sight. He turns back to Ali and Andrew. "If you would excuse me, I'm meeting up with someone and since I was stopping by here, I told them that they might as well meet me." Andrew asks who this mystery person is. Silvers ignores his employer and walks outside to the front yard. A limo pulls up. Drew steps out of the driver's seat and hurries over to the back door where he opens it for Jason to come out. Jason reaches back into the vehicle and takes Joanna's hand. She gracefully steps out of the super-stretched car. Once laying eyes on Silvers, a large smile appears on her face, "Daddy!" she yells, and she and her father embrace in a hug. "Oh my God, princess," Silvers cries, "I, I thought you were dead..."

Josh and Ben are riding in the former's car on their way to the Fisher home. "Thanks for letting me stay at your place," Ben says, "I just, I just can't go back to my mom's. I just can't forgive her." "I understand," Josh says, "No matter how much of a cunt Emma was, you still figured out a way to love her." Ben tells his friend that he wishes he had done it sooner. He wishes that he confessed his true feelings to her way before he did. Josh is confused. "How long have you had a thing for her?" he asks. Ben doesn't answer. Instead, he gets lost in thought. He thinks about the first time he ever laid eyes on Emma.  
We are shown a flashback that takes us several years back. Ben is at his locker, acting as if he's getting something when in reality he's really just drooling over Emma, who's standing across the hall, talking with Danielle. "So like, that little James Duong cunt wouldn't leave me alone, and when I told him to fuck off he started crying. Like he legit starts streaming tears. It was just so disgusting," Danielle says. "You shoulda told the little brat to slit his wrists and get it over with," Emma adds on. The two popular girls laugh. Two jocks walk by, both slapping Emma and Danielle's asses. They grin from the pleasure. Back over by his locker, Ben sighs. He continues to watch the gals. "Speaking of slitting wrists," Emma remembers, "I think ''another'' girl in the chess club is gonna kill herself ''just'' because I said that she looked like an overgrown pig and that no one could ever love her." Danielle rolls her eyes, "People these days. If the emotional cunt wasn't so fat then she wouldn't have to listen to stuff like that. At least she's not gonna hang herself, dangling her from some rope can't do much damage." The girls laugh. They stop, however, when they notice someone in particular coming in their direction -- Joey Davis. They groan. "What the fuck do you want, cow?" Danielle asks. "I just want me some suga, suga," Joey says as he leans against a locker trying to act cool. Emma knees him in the groin. "Ma... Ma..." he squeals in pain. Emma and Danielle grin and start to walk away. Ben continues to watch. Joey starts to overcome the pain, and as for revenge he quickly catches up with Emma and surprises her by coming up behind her, reaching over her shoulders, and using both hands to grab both of her boobs. "WHAT THE FUCK???" she screams. As Emma tries to break free from Joey's grasp, he continues to hold on. Emma screams for help. Danielle quickly grabs her bag and pulls out pepper spray. Emma moves backwards, slamming Joey against the lockers, hoping it makes him release. Ben hurries over to help. He starts prying off Joey, but Danielle looks away and starts spraying the pepper spray. However, instead of burning Joey's eyes, it burns Ben. He releases Joey and screams in pain. No one seems to notice this, but Danielle does notice that Joey is still grasping her best friend's boobs. She punches him in the nose, causing it to bleed. Joey finally lets go of Emma who falls to ground, inhaling and exhaling, trying to take in what all just happened. Joey runs for a nurse while Danielle and a crowd of other people gather around and comfort Emma. Ben sits alone, in pain, but he doesn't care. He just cares that Emma is alright.  
"Ben? Ben?" Josh asks before flicking his ear. Ben zones back and asks what that was for, referring to the ear flick. Josh points ahead, revealing that they are parked in the Fisher family's drive way. Ben is kinda surprised that he was zoned out that long. He doesn't say anything, though, he just gets out of the car with Josh. They head to the front door, but before Josh can put his key in, Val opens it. Josh is surprised and nervous. "What are you doing here?" he asks in a worried tone. Val grins and opens the door far enough so Josh and Ben can see Celeste, Pastor Dean, and Josh's mother, Quinn all talking. "There's lots to explain, babe," Val says, motioning Josh and Ben to come in.  
A little while later, Josh is sitting on the couch, head down as Pastor Dean and Quinn yell at him. "I leave for a six-month cruise and come home to find you got this girl pregnant? Do you realize how screwed we are? Celeste can take us to the cleaners!" Quinn says. "And then you break up with her?" Pastor Dean asks, "You are the worst excuse for a man I've ever met. If you get Valentina pregnant then you need to marry her." "But I don't love her," Josh replies, "I thought I did, but I don't. She's just a bitch." Quinn gasps and slaps her son across the face. "You know we don't use that kind of language in this house!" On the other end of the room, Ben, Val, and Celeste watch as Josh is yelled at by his parents. Val grins. "You are no longer welcome in this house, Joshua," Pastor Dean says. "What about Mr. Whiskers?" Josh asks. "That cat is staying here in a nice and loving environment. It couldn't possibly survive with all those trashy people on the streets. No offense," Quinn replies. The cat comes out from behind the couch and hisses at Quinn. Quinn immediately hisses right back, terrifying the poor animal. Josh storms out of the house. Ben quickly follows him. Celeste turns to her daughter whose wicked grin is bigger than ever, "What are you smiling about? Your ass is out on the street too" "I don't care," Val replies, "After the dance, everything will be perfect." Celeste is confused, but doesn't care enough to ask.

Ali arrives at the Santiago home, bringing with her the cooler with Danielle's head. She knocks on the door and Justine answers. "Hello darling," the middle-aged woman says, "I'm sorry, but Rena isn't at home right now." "He called me and asked me to meet him here," Ali replies, "I hope that's alright." Justine assures her that it is and lets her in. Ali starts to head upstairs, but is stopped by Justine. "Ali, I have to run to the store, you don't mind waiting alone, do you?" Ali tells Justine that she'll be fine. Justine smiles and heads out the door. Ali looks out the window and watches Justine's car leave the driveway. Once seeing that she's gone, Ali runs her cooler out into the garage. She opens up the freezer and moves a bunch of ice and food out of the way. She opens the cooler and puts Danielle's head in the freezer. She quickly covers it in ice and piles the other food on top. Once seeing that the job is done, Ali smiles and hurries back in the house, but accidentally leaves the empty cooler -- with her fingerprints.  
Later on, Rena, Ali, Ben, and Josh are upstairs in the former's bedroom, discussing their plan. "Okay, you got it?" Rena asks. Everyone nods, knowing exactly what they're supposed to do. Suddenly, they hear a police siren outside the house. Everyone rushes over to the window and they see two police officers and dogs. There's a loud knock on the front door. The four teens hurry downstairs to see what's going on. Justine opens the door, but is quickly pushed aside. "We have a warrant to search the premise," says one of the officers. Fernando gets off the couch and hurries over to his wife's side, confused. The second cop has the two dogs look around. "What's going on?" Rena asks. The second officer tells him that someone reported Fernando for killing Danielle Clark. Everyone is shocked, except Ali, who kind of stays in the back and keeps to herself. "Officer, this must be some mistake," Fernando says, "I didn't even know Danielle." The cop tells him that if this is a mistake then it's easily fixable. From out in the garage, the dog starts barking. The cop returns from the garage, aiming his gun at Fernando. He sends the other officer out to see what the dog found. The cop hurries back, aiming his gun at Fernando as well. "You sick bastard..." the cop says, "Put your hands where I can see them." Fernando puts his hands up and the cops handcuff him. Everyone starts freaking out. "Justine, call my lawyer," Fernando tells his wife before being dragged out of the house. Justine goes outside and breaks down into tears as she watches her husband driven away in a cop car. She falls to her knees, but of course, no one cares about her. Rena goes out to the garage to see what it was that the police found. He looks around and notices that the place had been trashed, but the opened freezer catches his eye. He heads over to it and jumps at the sight of Danielle's head. Due to everything that just happened, he's not thinking straight anymore, so of course the person he automatically thinks is responsible is none other than Val. "Time for the fucking dance..." he says.

Everyone is at the East Wiksteria High School Winter Dance. A DJ was finally booked for the right date and is playing music, the gym is flashing in different and bright colors, everyone is having a good time. Isabelle and James walk around, carrying clipboards, making sure everything is perfect. Liz stumbles into the gym, holding a brown paper bag with a bottle of vodka hidden inside. She's drunk. "Is- Isabelle Cat. Cat-z. Zzzzz. Isabelle Cat-z. Hehe," Liz says, "You- you're a cow. Hehe. Cows say mooooo." Isabelle asks what Liz is doing here. "I- I'm here to sp- spit in your piggy face. Oink." Isabelle starts crying and runs off. "I'm calling security," James says. Liz hits him over the head with her vodka bottle. "Good luck with that, Mr. Piggy. Is- Isabelle is Mi- Miss Piggy. Tehe, Miss Piggy. Ker- Kermit died. Go fuck the pig." Liz stumbles away.

Outside the school, a helicopter lands out front. Inside of it is Rena, Ali, Ben, Josh, and Silvers. Everyone but Silvers get out. Silvers tells Rena to make sure to blow the whistle once Val is dead. Rena nods and he, Ali, Ben, and Josh head inside the gym for the dance.  
The four friends look around for Val. Ben finally spots her talking with Amy and Alyssa by the DJ. Ali and Rena storm over to her with Ben and Josh behind them. "You fucking cunt," Ali says before slapping Val across the face. She's left unaffected. "So I guess you wanna do this now, okay, hold on." Val sends Amy and Alyssa away. She gets her purse and starts looking through it. "Hold on, guys, just gotta find something." Val pulls out a Ziploc bag, in it is Danielle's necklace. Ali's eyes widen, Rena's jaw drops, and Ben and Josh are just confused. Rena turns to Ali, "I thought you said you destroyed that thing." Val grins, "Well ain't this just perfect. I'm gonna get something from my locker, and then the school and the police can learn who really killed Danielle Clark." Val goes out a door that leads to the school's outdoor pool. Ben asks Ali if she's gonna use the tranquilizer. "Fuck that," she replies while pulling a knife out of her shirt sleeve, "I'm gonna cut that bitch." She runs out the same door Val went out, and is followed by Rena, Josh, and Ben. "VALENTINA!" Ali yells. Val stops walking and smirks. "If you're gonna expose me, then at least have the guts to fight me." Val laughs at what her ex-friend is saying. "Sorry babe, I don't get physical like all those dogs." Ali's mad now. "Give. Me. Back. Danielle's. Necklace. NOW!!!" Ali lunges forward, screaming, and tackles Valentina to the ground. The two gals are now fighting for the necklace. Josh notices Ali's purse lying on the ground and sees the tranquilizer gun. He goes for it, but stops when he notices Rena jump into the fight. He starts smashing Val's face into the ground, but comes to a stop when her hand manages to get into his pants. It sorta tickles him. Val moves her hand around until she can find Rena's testicles, she grasps them, squeezing the life out of them. "AAARRRGGGG," Rena screams in pain. He punches Val in the face repeatedly, but she doesn't let go of his injured balls. Ali grabs Val's purse and gets the bag with the necklace. "LOL no," Val says before releasing Rena and grabbing Ali's hair. The blonde screams and manages to use her knife and slit one of Val's wrists, but not enough to cause serious damage. Josh grabs the tranquilizer and goes after Val. He knocks her over the head with the gun and tells her not to move. Val surrenders. Rena and Ali lie on the ground in pain, Ben stands back and watches, and Josh holds the mother of his unborn child at gunpoint. He doesn't so anything though. "Josh, what are you waiting for? Kill her!!" Ali asks. Josh's hand starts to shake and his forehead starts to sweat. Rena and Ben start pleading for Josh to shoot. Val wickedly grins. "What's wrong, Josh? You can't do it? You don't have the balls to shoot me? So pathetic." With this, Val swings her leg at Josh's ankle and trips him. She grabs the tranquilizer and pushes him into the pool. "Everyone put your hands up," Val says, waving the tranquilizer around. Rena, Ben, Ali, and Josh all put up their hands. "Okay," Rena says, "So are you gonna shoot us all? Torture us severely? What?" Val chuckles, "I have the nerve to kill you all right here right now." "Then why don't you do it?" Ali asks in a smart ass tone. "Well, the reason is quite simple." She turns to Josh, "Because I'm still in love with you." Josh is furious, but all that can come out of his mouth is, "Drop dead." Val ignores the nasty comment and tells her hostages that this is the last time they can get away with screwing with her. "But of course you all still have to be punished." She quickly turns to Ben and shoots him with the tranquilizer. Everyone gasps. Ben falls to the ground unconscious. Val chuckles, "Next time it'll be all of you." She turns to Josh, "As for you, I'll be back and we ''will'' be together!" Rena, Ali, and Josh are furious, but also terrified. "Goodbye, my love," Val says to Josh, and with that she starts running, making her way off the school's premise. Everyone else is now in tears, they all gather around Ben. "Oh my God," Ali says, "the tranquilizers went into his heart..." "So?" Rena asks confused. Ali looks at him and Josh with fear in her eyes, "It means he might have less time to get help." Josh asks, "Well what do we do?" Ali turns to Rena, "Call Silvers!..."


End file.
